The Arvada enterprise., 1921-08-04
AZ10tzAEHr KELxaN

une Of the most curious and interesting Of the
cacti Ia the "mescal button" ~ 'peyote" which
10 . strong stimulant and aliays all hunger and
thirst and fstisue for the time being The Tara.
humare Indians and Huicholes Of Mexico make
. cult Of the "peyote," going on long pilgrmaGes
in search Of II and employing II both incidentally
and reliEously - . cure for all bodily his and
q powerful cid to abstinence.
In certain parts Of Mexico, Sicily and elss-
where. the natives fve almost entirely on fresh
cactus fruits when they are In season. They
grow them 10 gardens and orchards and often
gather them at dawn when they are cooleHt d.
though their temperature II always below that
Of the surrounding air. They are aleO used ID
salads. preserves picked with lemons, dried. fer
mented a. = beverage. made Into a syrup called
TUNA honey" thin paste called "melcOchs." or
a thick paste similar to xuava Jelly. Even the
seeds sometimes dried and saved to uae when
the fruits gone.
The Barbados EoO~eberry. used for tarts and
sauces In the West Indies. Ia apn,e-shapei and
decorated with small leaves or bracta. The plant,
PereSkia aculesta. II a struggling shrub with
slender branches. recurved prickies. glossy green
leaves, and clusters Of pae-yellow flowers.
The prickiy pears. or tunas are abundant and
much used. They pear shaped or Eiobular.
weighing from an ounce 10 n pound: red. yellow.
or purple In color and usually sweet though
sometimes ncid In flavor. The akin c"ntans cius-
tiers Of tiny apicueS. or ROchida. which are very
required In peeling them. They sometimes
called Indian hgs Rnrhnry hgr because NJ the
numerous small s.-ets which they contain. Sew.
era, species Of Opuntia cultivated for their
fruits Hs wall as for their edible Joints The
flowers are large. usually yellow orange. rarely
rose red.
Delicious fruits are those of Cereus p,tahays
and lts relatives. This species grows to the
height Of 20 feet and Its trunk reaches two and
a half feet In diameter The fruit IN gathered
Mt dawn with long retd sticks armed with sev-
eral prOngs.
The fruits Of Cereus gtgsnteus, q handsome
cactus ~ the Southwest. arr aiso much esteemed
either In the fresh state preserved. They ara
egg shaped. two three inches long green on
the outside and crimson within The strs wberry
penr. obtained from C~reus trianEuaris. In par
shaped. bright. red with slightly acid pulp. max.
ing II desirable In the fresh condition an
Ingredient of the pepper pot Of the West In
dies Excellent fruits are alan produced by
IIpnair~ocereus ,hurhcr and certain other Iargs
trc~-cscti and these ''pi'nhayas" do NOT have the
annoying prickrs found In the fruits ~ Opuntia.
"C;nramhullas" the small currxntliks fruits
Of Myrtill"cnctus. They are eaten fresh " dried
like rnisins The m.lsp cacti produce II number
of small edible fruits resembling tiny srarle, rad
ishcs or red peppers The Mexican strawberry.
found on n species Of hedgehog cactus. is salmon
coIOrcd, two Inches In length. md very sweet In
favor. II gets it, name from its numerous mi.
mute seeds TrtczO hgs so important 10 the nntives
Of southern Puebln ar" the fruits Of n species Of
Pachyccrcus.
Although many Of the Wild cacti furnish vain.
able food for man hnd beast, II must he nd.
mitted that there is room for Improvement both
In the quantity and the qnnliiy NJ this food.
have visited Mr. Burbnnks experimental grounds
In California and fully r.nlIzs the difiicuty 0f
his tnsk In dealing with the cncti md the iupor.
tame. Of his results. His problem 10 take 4
PneAlA Als.s, ant unN (sensA IL IL.
thOrns and pr1rklss breed out its indig~stibls
woody skeleton and improve the sxs md flavor
Of It's fruits.
Tn. fruits II the Burbank creations sr. aver
three inches long, usually yellow or red In color
and have nsvors vii their own. resembling those
" peaches. melons. pinsnpplcs. etc.