THE CACTUS 129 



of several other varieties. He purchased the 

 privilege also of introducing the new plants 

 throughout the Southern Hemisphere. 



This was the first financial return for the work 

 on the Opuntias. It practically paid for the 

 building of my new home, but, of course, fell far 

 short of the sum expended on the cactus 

 experiments. 



A little later a company, formed to control the 

 introduction of the plant in the Northern Hemi- 

 sphere, paid me a large sum for my interest in 

 the entire stock, including one or two hardy 

 hybrids that had value for further experimental 

 purposes. The original sale included individual 

 slabs of the different varieties. The later de- 

 liveries included more than fifty tons of slabs and 

 plants, constituting the tangible results of the 

 long series of experiments. 



My experiment farm, however, still has a large 

 quantity of Opuntias in various stages of devel- 

 opment, but particularly those that are being 

 developed for their fruiting qualities. Not less 

 than five hundred tons of forage as nearly as 

 can be estimated are now standing on less than 

 an acre at Santa Rosa. 



As forage plants, the spineless Opuntias 

 already developed have attained a degree of per- 

 fection that leaves little to be desired. 



5 Vol. 6 Bur. 



