57^^ ] onriial of Agriculture. lo Sept., 1909^ 



Durin^r niy recent \isit tu S\(lnev, Mr. Maiden arranged for a demon- 

 stration of a new method of destroying prickh- pear which its inventor 

 was SLippo-sed to have used successful 1\ in Queenshind, hut which was 

 merely based on the above principle of puncturing the stem to admit 

 poison. Even assuming that the treatment as shown was fully effective, 

 its cost worked out to over ^4,000 jjer .square mile, or ^7 an acre, 

 which is more than most of the land affected bv pricklv pear is worth, 

 when cleared. The use of a hea\-\ roller has been recommended, but 

 grubbing out, piling, spraving the heaps, and burning when drv is the- 

 only method of permanent! v clearing. E\en then the land is readily 

 re-infected by .seed carried bv birds, etc. 



The spinv cactus was originallv introducfd 1)\ Goxernor Phillip in 

 1789, apparently for the purpose of .starting the cochineal industry in 

 Xew South Wales, but had not long been cultivated, before it ran wild, 

 and t)ecame the terrible pest it now is in (Queensland and in Xew South 

 U'ales north of the Hawkesburv River. 



The fruits of the prickly pear are u.sed as food for man in Sicily, 

 North Africa, and some parts of the United States, the prickles being 

 removed by rubbing with a cloth. The\- contain up to 14 per cent, of 

 sugar, but barely more than \ per cent, of nitrogenous food, so that they 

 are comparable as regards food value, with sugary fruits like apples 

 or pears, have a less food value than a [xjtato, but rather more than a 

 carrot or fodder beet. According to Wolff, 3 pounds of prickly pear 

 fruits are equal to i pound of good drv hay. This applies only to the- 

 fruits of the prickly pear; tho.se of the spineless forms, which also grow- 

 in North Africa (Tunis, etc.) and probablv contain less sugar, do not 

 apj^ear to be used bv the natives as food. Further, the collection of 

 the fruits is exceedinglv unpleasant work, and the cost of collecting them 

 in quantity as food for stock would lie quite considerable. The same 

 objection would applv to- their suggested use for distillation purposes, 

 while the vegetative parts are too bulkv in regard to the small amount 

 of fermentable carbo-hydrate they contain, to make it proiitable to use 

 them fof this or any similar purpose. 



Spineless Cacti. 

 According to reliable information, some of the spineless cacti sold by 

 Burbank have been privately imported into Victoria with the intention of 

 encouraging farmers to plant them as fodder for cattle. It is not likelv 

 that any forms of cactus will thrive to such an extent as tO' become pests 

 in the colder and wetter regions of Victoria, but this might be the case 

 in the drier and warmer North-Western districts. Tt must Ix^ remembered 

 that there is always a possibility of the spineless forms reverting, when 

 wild, to the spinv condition. Apart from this, the fodder value, even 

 of the spineless forms of cactus, is not very great. They are more .stores 

 of water than of food. Tn addition, thcv contain a certain amount of 

 tough fibre, which has been known to cau.se imjiaction in stock grazing 

 upon them, and which is onlv .softened liy ])rolonged boiling. The usual 

 effect of such waterv food is. however, to cause scouring, and this, coupled 

 with the tendency of the plants to l)ecome arid during the night-time, 

 prevents stock from fattening when fed exclusive!) upon them. Pigs 

 will chew spineless ca,cti and reject the fibre, and stock in general take it 

 rather as a source of water than of food, although cows will swallow 

 it like other food. As far as the evidence goes, therefore, it is not 

 possible at present to recommend the cultivation of tlie spineless forms- 

 of cacti, and in fact, the farmer who encourages the development <in his. 



