The Washington herald., 1921-06-02
WHOLE CACTUS FAMILY
STUDIED By BOTkNIsrs

All OF the plants of the ear,,.
Iamiiy nave been pictured ana a.
scrioeo IN four large and richtv
Illustrated volumes that have hesn
ssoeo by the Carnegie institptIo,
OF Washington. These voIuus. -,
resent the results Of many vear.
OF investigation carried ONT fn -.
operation with the New York r.
tahicai garden. the department ~
agriculture and the national mn.
scum ne-
~ is particularly fitting that ,hs,
exhaustive study should be under-
usken oy American botsnist, sinc.
she cactuses are peculiar to Amer
lca- Ihey have, however. been 10
troouceo into many parts OF IN. ola
orio and In places appear % be
perfectly natural in their surround-
ihss aho seem 70 be a part Of ths
naive vegetation. In fact. they 40
eAshy become established thar sew
eral species which were introduced
INTO Chins after the discoyer,, ~
Amerlca have been described as ma
i've 10 that country. Along the
hiNiera and in Spain a number og
species have spread over the hills
ana waste places and have become
quite an annoyance. In Australia
several species have not only occu-
pleo the waste places. but have in
rested the best wheat lands Of the
country. Some Of the Australian
states have spent thousa nds OF DOL
lars IN attempting TO eradicate these
pesu and have even sent scientific
commissions to America and Europe
70 obtain Information as TO methods
Tor ersoicating them perhaps by
natural enemies.
The species Of cacti are dirtrfbut-
60 throughout the Americas. ex-
tending from southern Canada 20
the straits Of Magellan. from ocean
10 ocean and from sea level to a
height Of about 1900 feet. Thev
are, however, most abundant in the
southwestern United States. on the
table lands Of Mexico and in ali the
semi-arid regions OF South America
"hile these plants often form Shs
most dominant feature Of the ls.<-
scape In semi-arid regions. they are
also represented in the humid
regions. especially those OF eastern
South America
The cacu are not Of great eco
nomie value. considering the sire
OF the family. but some OF them DO
furnish valuable food products
Thousands Of bushels Of various
kinds Of these fruits are sold IN the
iruit markets on the tablelands Of
Mexico. In Sicily very fine fruits
OF prickly pears are grown and
shipped TO all parts Of the world.
About San Luis Potosi. Mexico. es-
pecially. large quantities Of one Of
the cactus fruits are gathered ana
orled, from which a kind Of Jam
called casa de tuna Is made. The
Indians in the southwest gather the
truit OF the giant cactus. known a,
sahuara. which they dry and pre-
serve for their winter supple.
Other Indians in lower California
make from one Of the cactus fruits
kind Of beer which they greatly
relish. In parts Of southern Texas
other species furnish small.
sweetish fruit known as the straw
berry cactus fruit. Another plant
in central Mexico produces a great
abundance Of small berries called
garambullos. which are gathered IN
great Quantities by the Indian, and
used very much as we use raisins.
Some Of the species have consid-
cradle value as forage plants and
the department of agriculture has
carried on a large series Of growing
and feeding experiments. The re-
sui OF these studies shows that the
chief value Of the castus for foraEs
is as an emergency ration. Farm
ers, by careful feeding Of their
cattle on these plants. can bring
their stuck fhr0ueh severs
drought in the deserts Of TexAA