THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 91 



emoryi Engelm. and E. wislizerii Engelm., from which palatable 

 water can be obtained by the thirsty traveler in desert country in 

 an emergency. In his bulletin on "Desert Plants as a Source 

 of Drinking- Water", Mr. F. V. Coville tells how their Indian 

 guide cut off the top of an Echinocaetus, pounded and squeezed 

 out the watery pulp in the inside of the plant, and then drank 

 the slightly salty water with apparent relish. On the slopes 

 of the volcano of Colima, Mexico, is found an epiphytic cactus, 

 Epiphyllum anguligcr G. Don, from the fruits of which a 

 refreshing drink like lemonade is prepared. In other parts of 

 that country a drink called by the natives "colonche" is pre- 

 pared by fermenting the juice obtained by pressing the fruits 

 of the large prickly pears. 



Building Material, Furniture, Etc. The hard, reticulated 

 skeletons of several species of Qpuntia are used for various 

 purposes, such as the manufacture of napkin rings, walking 

 sticks, table and chair legs, and even> for veneering. In 

 Mexico the very poor inhabitants make their huts from the 

 trunks of the taller columnar cacti, but in South America the 

 writer saw genuine lumber cut from the immense trunks of 

 the "mandacaru" (Cereus janiacaru DC). In the state of 

 Bahia, Brazil, houses and sheds are made of this wood alone, 

 and in appearance at least, they compare very favorably with 

 some of our American dwellings. The wood is somewhat 

 harder than white pine. 



Calking. The cordwood cactus, (Cereus gitniinosus 

 Weber), according to C. R. Orcutt, yields a gummy substance 

 which has been used to calk boats. 



Dyes and Coloring Material. The Nopal, (Nopalca 

 coceincllifcra Salm-Dyck), is the chief host plant of the 

 cochineal insect, from which cochineal dyes are obtained. 

 Until the introduction of aniline dyes, the cochineal industry 

 was very important. At the present time cochineal cultivation 

 has been discontinued nearly everywhere except in the Canary 



