USEFUL NATIVE PLANTS OF NEW MEXICO—STANDLEY. 451 
This was unknown to botanists until the year 1846, when it was dis- 
covered by Dr. Wislizenus who was making a journey of scientific 
exploration through the Southwest. He first saw the viznaga near 
the village of Dona Ana at the lower end of the Jornado del Muerto, 
on August 5, and speaks of it in these words: 
Before reaching Dofiana I met on the road with the largest cactus of the kind I have 
everseen. It was an oval Echinocactus with enormous fishhook-like prickles, measur- 
ing in height 4 feet and in the largest circumference 6 feet 8 inches. It had yellow 
flowers and at the same time seed, both of which I took along with some of the ribs. 
These specimens ultimately reached Dr. George Engelmann of St. 
Louis, the first botanist to make an extensive study of our North 
American Cactaceze, who named the species in honor of its discoverer. 
This viznaga is seen in cultivation in the Southwest and occasionally 
in the East. The plants that have been mutliated assume strange 
forms, and bifurcate or cristate stems are not uncommon. 
The barrel cactus is a potential source of water in extreme need. 
When its top is removed and the juicy white pulp macerated with a 
club a quantity of a clear watery liquid is extracted from it. While 
this will serve as a substitute for water in cases of severe thirst its 
taste is not altogether agreeable, and fortunately in New Mexico 
water is rarely so scarce as to necessitate such a substitute. The pulp ~ 
of the viznaga is used more satisfactorily for another purpose. When 
cut into strips or cubes, boiled several hours until tender, then cooked 
in a thick sirup which is usually prepared from the crude brown sugar 
so largely used in Mexico, molded into rough cones known as pilon- 
cillos, the resultant product is a candied pulp similar to candied pine- 
apple or citron, of a delicious flavor (pl. 5). Large quantities of it are 
made every spring by the native people and sold by vendors about 
the streets of nearly all southwestern towns. It is known as dulce 
de viznaga. More recently another possible use for the plant has 
been found. The flesh after being cut into long thin strips and, 
treated with a glycerin solution forms a sort of vegetable leather 
which has been manufactured into souvenirs for the tourist trade. 
Remarkable among the novel curios to be found in the shops of 
the towns frequented by tourists are the canes made from the stems 
of the cholla (Opuntia arborescens). These are long narrow cylinders 
of wood composed of a network of coarse woody bundles with many 
interstices. They are the woody part of the cholla from which flesh 
and spines have been removed. Although easy to prepare, to one 
who is ignorant of the method of manufacture they appear to have 
been whittled from a solid stick of wood with painstaking care. This 
tree cactus is another of the plants first made known to science 
through the explorations of Dr. Wislizenus. Among the Spanish 
people it is sometimes known as yelas de coyote (coyote candles). 
