146 LUTHER BURBANK 



craving for water. But in fact the cactus is not 

 a complete feed, and it is always more economi- 

 cal to feed some dry food with it, alfalfa hay 

 being one of the best, to complete and round it 

 out as a nitrogenous diet. 



Almost without exception, herbivorous ani- 

 mals are fond of the cactus. Cattle prefer it 

 to almost any other food, and it makes a 

 superior quality of beef, and exceedingly 

 rich milk, which is not surprising considering 

 the succulence of the cactus and the fact 

 that it contains a relatively large percentage 

 of the salts of sodium, potassium, and 

 magnesium. 



A very superior quality of pork is produced 

 from pigs fed on the cactus fruit. The fruit 

 is used also with success as a poultry food. The 

 plant has been fed to horses, which, however, 

 are said as a rule not to relish it until they become 

 accustomed to it. 



But the merits of the cactus as a food for ani- 

 mals have too long been recognized to require 

 extended comment. The wild thorny cactus is 

 frequently prepared for stock feeding by burn- 

 ing off its spines, and in Australia the leaves 

 and fruit of the dwarf and horribly thorny kind 

 are boiled to make them available as food for 

 hogs, especially in long seasons of drought. 



