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LUTHER BURBANK 



had been in the school that were not only free from thorns 

 but had the growing and feeding qualities for which he had 

 so long striven. They were children no longer now, but 



giant cacti, as tall as 

 full-grown men. Their 

 leaves were from ten 

 to twenty inches long, 

 from six to twelve 

 inches wide, and from 

 one to two inches 

 thick, and bearing 

 delicious fruit. There 

 Cactus fruit. was not a spine or a 



needle in all their rich 



meat. The woody fibre had partly disappeared and the 

 surface was as smooth as a watermelon. 



Little Opuntia, the cactus child, was justly proud of 

 these finely developed plant children, who were on the 

 honor roll, and were now ready to go on to a higher educa- 

 tion for usefulness. 



CHAPTER XXX 

 OPUNTIA, ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS PUPILS 



Just as all eyes of the plant pupils were turned upon 

 the cactus child when he entered the school, so are the 

 eyes of real people now centred upon its offspring, the 



