Floristik, Geographie, Systematik etc. 201 



Anonymus. Report of the Eighth International Geographie 

 Congress. (Washington, Govt. Printing Office, 8^. 1064 pp. 77 maps, 

 plates and text cuts. 1905.) 



The report of the 8^^ Congress published at the expence of the 

 United States Government contains besides a brief sketch of the 

 history, Organization and membership of the Congress, the minutes 

 of the meetings, 11 addresses and reports and 149 papers and 

 abstracts. Many articles are of interest to students of plant geo- 

 graphy and of economic plants. W. T. Swingle. 



Burbank, L., The New Agricultural-Horticultural Opuntias. 

 (gr. 8^. p. 1 — 28. 14 imnumbered halftone illustrations (12 of cacti), 

 Santa Rosa, Calif. published by the author. Juni 1907.) 



Mr. Burbank's first publication on economic cacti serves to set 

 at rest many groundless suppositions as to the character of the 

 work he has had under way for some years on these plants. Some 

 persons, forgetting that Mr. Burbank has made up to now no official 

 announcement of his work, jumped to the conclusion that he had 

 merely hit upön one of the common nearly spineless forms of 

 Opuntia Ficus Indica. Others, more dishonest, have been offering 

 for sale so-called "Burbank's Thornless Cactus" dispite the fact that 

 not a Single plant or seed of Mr. Burkank's new creations had left 

 his grounds up to a few weeks ago. 



Mr. Burbank was perfectly well aware at the inception of his 

 work on the Opuntias that there were man}' forms nearl}- thornless 

 and he has even brought to light one kind, which he calls the 

 "Marin", grown in many countries, that has neither spines nor spi- 

 cules.The Marin is not of much value, however, as it is a rather small plant 

 and is not hardy. The new forms are much more rapid growers 

 and are also more hard3\ 



Nineteen of the best of the already known cultivated Opinitias are 

 listed on p. 9—14 and given horticultural names; 11 are forms of 

 O. Ficus India, 3 of O. tuna; 2 are supposed to be hybrids of 

 O. Ficus Indica and 0. tuna while 3 are of undetermined rela- 

 tionship. 



In the third an most interesting part of the pamphlet seven 

 "new creations" are described for the first time. Four of these, 

 Santa Rosa^ Sonoma, California and Fresno , are forms of 0. Ficus 

 Indica; two, Mo)ite)'ey a.nd Chico, are forms of 0. tuna; and one, 

 Giiayqiiil, is not classified. Three of the new cacti are absolutely 

 without spines or spicules, two are entirely spineless and nearly 

 distitute of spicules, while the remaining two have only insignificant 

 spines and spicules. 



On June 1, 1906, a half acre tract of heavy, black „adobe" soil 

 in Sonoma Co., California, a soil generally thought to be unsuited 

 to cacti, was planted with a number of kinds of the new cacti. 

 Rooted leaves were set out 21/2 by 5 feet (76 X 1^0 cm.) and after 

 growing 6 months yielded an average of M^]^ pounds of green 

 forage per plant or at the rate of 180,230 Ibs. per acre (over 200.000 

 kilos per hectare), Some of the best varieties produced very much 

 above this average, though planted much too closely for perma- 

 nent field culture ..." Mr. Burbank expects the above yield to be 

 nearly or quite doubled in desert climates with an occasional light 

 Irrigation. These Opuntias are useful not only für forage but also 



