(139) 



3187. Velvet bean.— Mucuna utilis Wall. Native of tropical America and widely 



cultivated. Collected by H. H. Rusby at Miami, Florida. 



3188. Another specimen of the same. Same collection. 



3189. Lion velvet bean. — Another variety of the same. Same collection. 



3190. Jack bean. Chickasaw Lima bean. — Canavali ensiformis DC. Native 



of tropical America and cultivated. Same collection. 



THE CACTUS FAMILY {Cactaceae) 



The stems of most members of this family, often called "leaves" by careless 

 persons, because of their broad and flattened forms, are soft and juicy, and serve 

 as storage reservoirs for water during the rainy season, this water serving the plant 

 during the long dry seasons of desert regions. This water-storage tissue is not only 

 succulent and thirst-quenching, but is rich in nutritious matter, so that it has 

 come to be used largely as fodder for domestic animals, and to some extent as food 

 for man. The thorns and prickles which are thickly borne by most cactuses are 

 highly objectionable, producing inflammation, often fatal, in the digestive organs 

 of the animals. For this reason, the stems are usually roasted or singed in the 

 flame before being fed. The discovery of varieties which were free from these 

 irritating appendages has led to successful efforts to breed cultivated varieties 

 of this sort. In this work Mr. Luther Burbank has been very active, and some 

 of his varieties, here shown, are largely cultivated in the southwestern United 

 States. These specimens were collected from plants growing in the conservatory 

 of the New York Botanical Garden. 



3 191. Actual spineless cactus. 



3192. Arbiter spineless cactus. 



3193. Market spineless cactus. 



3194. Melrose spineless cactus. 



3195. Niagara spineless cactus. 



3196. Opaline spineless cactus. 



3197. Quillota spineless cactus. 



3198. Robusta spineless cactus. 



3199. Signal spineless cactus. 



3200. Western mugwort. — The herbage of Artemisia gnaphalodes Nutt. (Cardua- 



ceae — Thistle Family). Native of northwestern North America. Occa- 

 sionally eaten by stock when nothing better is obtainable. 



FOODS 



It is intended to exhibit in this collection specimens of all 

 obtainable plants which contribute food or food-products 

 for the use of man. In these cases will be found a number 

 of articles that are also represented among the poisonous 

 plants. In such cases the poisonous properties are due 

 to the presence of certain constituents which it is possible 

 to remove by cooking or other processes, leaving an edible 

 and nutritious residue. As illustrations of this class, we 



