VI 



CACTUS AND SUCCULENTS 



CACTUS and succulent lovers soon acquire a form of 

 fever which seems to be reducing, I presume on ac- 

 count of the immense labor in memorizing the awful 

 names they have. I used to think there were only two 

 things a man had that were above reproach, his wife 

 and his car, but now I know you should not refer to 

 his cactus collection in anything but superlative 

 terms if you wish to remain a friend. 



Many cactus and succulents look much alike but 

 there are five points that at once put cacti in a class 

 by themselves and lacking any one of these deter- 

 mines whether they are something else. They are, 

 first, the seeds have two cotyledons, with the baby 

 cactus growing between them. Second, the fruit is a 

 one-celled berry with no partitions between the seeds. 

 Third, it must have spine cushions whether it has 

 spines or not. Fourth, the ovary or seed pod must be 

 below the petals and sepals. Fifth, it must be a peren- 

 nialmany live for several or even hundreds of 

 years, as the Carnegie Gigantea. Examine your speci- 

 men from this standpoint and you can very soon tell 

 if it is of the Cactaceae family. 



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