The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1921-08-04

One of the most curious and interesting of the
cact is the "mescal button" "peyote" which
is a strong stimulant and alays all hunger and
thirst and fatigue for the time being The Tara
humare Indians and HuichOles of Mexico make
a cult Of the "peyote" going on long pilgrimages
In search of it and employing it both incidentally
and religiously a cure for all bodily ills and
a powerful aid to abstinence.
In certain parts of Mexico Sicily and else
where, the natives live almost entirely fresh
cactus fruits when they are in season. They
grow them In gardens and orchards and often
gather them at dawn when they are coolest al
though their temperature Is always below that
of the surrounding air They are also used in
salads preserves, picked with lemons, dried, fer
mented as beverage made into a syrup called
TUNA honey" a thin paste called 'melcocha," or
a thick paste similar to guava jelly. Even the
seeds are sometimes dried and saved to use when
the fruits are gone
The Barbados gooseberry used for tarts and
sauces In the West Indies is apple-shaped and
decorated with small leaves or bracts. The plant,
Pereskia aculeata, is a struggling shrub with
slender branches, recurved prckles, glossy green
leaves and clusters of pale-yellow flowers.
The pricky pears, or tunas, are abundant and
much used. They are pear-shaped or gobular,
weighing from an ounce to pound red, yellow,
or purple in color; and usually sweet, though
sometimes acid in flavor The skin contains clus-
tiers of tiny spcules, or gochidia, which are very
irritating If taken into the mouth, that care Is
required in peeling them They are sometimes
called Indian figs or Barbary figs because of the
numerous small seeds which they contain. Sew.
eral species of Opuntia are cultivated for their
fruits as we'll as for their edible joints. The
flowers are large, usually yellow orange rarely
rose or red.
Delicious fruits are those of Cereus pitahaya
and its relatives. This species grows to tho
height of 80 feet and It's trunk reaches two and
n half feet In diameter. The fruit is gathered
at dawn with long reed sticks armed with sew
eral prongs
The fruits of Cereus gganteus, handsome
cactus of the Southwest are also much esteemed
either in the fresh state or preserved. They are
epg-shaped two or three inches long, green on
the outside and crimson within. The strawberry
pear, obtained from Cereus triangularis Is pear
shaped, brightred, with slightly acid pulp, maxi
ing Ii desirable In the fresh condition or as an
ingredient of the pepper pot" of the West In
dies Excellent fruits are also produced by
Lemaireocereus thurberi and certain other large
tree-cacti and these "ptahayas' do not have the
annoying prickles found In the fruits Of Opuntia.
"Garambullas" are the small currantke fruits
Of Myrtlllocactus. They are eaten fresh or dried
ike rasins. The melon cacti produce number
Of small edible fruits resembling tiny scarlet rad
ishes or red peppers The Mexican strawberry
fOuIu vi u Sp''it0 VI hVub'H"5 NHN'uS ~ 5dAHlou-
colored, two inches In length, and very sweet in
flavor It gets It's name from It's numerous mi
mute seeds Tetezo figs so important to the natives
OF southern Puebla, are the fruits of a species of
Pachycereus
Although many of the wild casti furnish vau-
able food for man and beast, II must be adj
mitted that there is room for Improvement both
In the quantity and the quality Of this food
have visited Mr.. Burbanks experimental grounds
in California and fully realize the difficulty OF
his task in dealing with the cacti and the impor.
lance OF his results. His problem was to take n
vagrant, forbiddng plant, and divest It Of Its
thoms and priclJes, breed out It's indlgestible
woody skeleton and improve the size and flavor
Of Its fruits
The fruits Of the Burbank creations are over
three inches long, usually yellow or red In color,
and have lavors all their own, resembling those
of peaches melons, pneapples, etc.