THE CACTUS 137 



arid ranchman of Honolulu, who declares that on 

 his ranch in Hawaii he has horses that "do not 

 know what water is and will not drink it if it is 

 brought before them. They have never tasted 

 water." 



"I have good, fat cattle," Mr. Hind continues, 

 "that have never seen water and would not know 

 how to act if water touched them. I have other 

 cattle that I have imported from the United 

 States which have not tasted a drop of water since 

 being turned out on my cactus and blue grass 

 pastures. They have lived for years without 

 water, and are as fat as any grass-fed cattle in the 

 United States. They make just as good beef as 

 you can get in any restaurant." 



To anyone who knows the prime necessity of 

 a water supply for cattle and horses under ordi- 

 nary conditions of grazing, such statements seem 

 almost incredible. But they are thoroughly au- 

 thenticated and, indeed, they need excite no sur- 

 prise in the mind of anyone who appreciates the 

 succulent quality of the cactus slab. 



In fact, the entire cactus plant is a nutritious 

 receptacle for holding water. 



It was doubtless because the leaves of the cactus 

 transpired water, as do all leaves, that these ap- 

 pendages were given up, so that the cactus of 

 to-day is a leafless plant. A plant that grows in 



