THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 93 



soft and • sweet. In Mexico the young tender mucilaginous 

 pads of many Opuntias are cut into strips, "nopalillos", and 

 cooked like string beans, and from the larger species of 

 Echinocactus the Mexican "dulces" are made. The flesh is 

 cut into strips and boiled in water to which is added large 

 quantities of cane sugar. After boiling thus for some time, 

 these strips are dried, and sell very readily in the markets. 

 A large number of cacti furnish choice fruits, all known as 

 "tunas". The writer has seen many of these for sale in the 

 markets of the large towns on the west coast of Mexico, of 

 which one or two kinds would be worth introducing into this 

 country. In San Luis Potosi, Mexico, one of the most im- 

 portant foods sold in the markets is the "tuna cheese", made 

 usually from the fruit of Opuntia streptacantha Lem. W. L. 

 Bonney says that the cheese is made by simply boiling and 

 straining the tuna pulp until the proper consistency is reached. 

 It is of a chocolate color, pleasant to the taste, wholesome, 

 and slightly laxative. Sometimes nuts or flavors are added, 

 and the product is more appetizing when taken with milk. 

 The "pitahayas" are the fruits of various species of Ccrcus, 

 and the sweet "tomales" are prepared by taking out the insides 

 of these fruits and allowing these insides to dry for several 

 days. A certain kind of tuna fruit is sold in the fruit stores 

 of most of our cities, largely as a curiosity, for it is usually 

 very tasteless. "Cactus candy", which is the Mexican "visnaga 

 duke", is put up in jars and sold in many places. According 

 to Mr. W. E. Safford, the fruits of Echinocactus longihaniatus 

 Gal., which are called "limas de visnaga", are used in cooking 

 as a substitute for lemons. He also says that the fruits, 

 "chilitos", of Mamillaria greggii (Engelm.) Safford are rel- 

 ished for their acidulous, cranberry-like flavor. He further 

 states that the seeds of nearly all the species of Pachycereus, 

 "cardones", are used by the Indians for food. The "higos de 

 tetetzo" of southern Puebla. seeds of Pachycereus columnar- 



