644 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



houses of the woodpeckers are favorite retreats for the Mexican 

 screech owl and the pygmy owl. An occasional bat, overtaken 

 by sunlight, passes the day in one of these dark holes, and when 

 the excavation extends through, from side to side, the cactus 

 wren brings in its miscellaneous collection of sticks and straws 

 and makes itself at home. 



The first flowers appear when the plant reaches a height from 

 eight to twelve feet, and at this time branches develop ; usually 

 forming a whorl a few feet below the summit. In the course of a 

 year or two the branches assume an upright position, forming 

 columns parallel to the main stem. 



The large, waxy-white flowers are borne in the axils of the 

 bunches of spines, at or a few inches below the summit of the 

 trunk and branches ; sometimes a half hundred crowning the sum- 

 mit of a single branch. They begin to bloom during the early 

 days of May, and are not entirely gone before the middle of June. 

 By midsummer the thick stems are loaded with ripened fruit, 

 and the harvest time for both birds and Indians is at hand. The 

 latter, mounted on ponies, pass from tree to tree, armed with long 

 poles, with which they detach the fruit and bring it to the ground. 

 The squaws gather it in baskets and carry it to their village, 

 where it constitutes the staple article of food for the time being. 

 The surplus is made into a preserve having the consistence of 

 thick molasses, and is nearly as sweet. It is then packed in small 

 oUas and put away for future use. Not always, however, is the 

 surplus fruit put to this use, but instead is made into a rank, 

 intoxicating drink. 



The fresh fruit is not unpleasant, even to the cultivated palate, 

 and is very unlike the slimy, mucilaginous fruits of many other 

 species. At maturity they are fully three inches long and half as 

 wide. In a few days the pericarp, or thick outer rind, splits at 

 the summit into several segments, which, curling back, exposes 

 the rich, red pulpy interior. The segments spreading in all direc- 

 tions appear from a distance like gayly colored petals. As they 

 become more deflexed the central portion falls to the ground, 

 leaving only the pericarp attached to the plant. The edible por- 

 tion consists of the long, fleshy funiculi which attach the numer- 

 ous small black seeds to the ovary. 



Nearly a half hundred birds feed upon the rich, nutritious 

 fruit of this plant, the list including all our thrashers, wood- 

 peckers, finches, and pigeons. It is through the agency of these 

 birds that the seeds become disseminated. 



