264 GARDENING WITH BRAINS '3? 



danger of reversion to the spiny condition when 

 the improved opuntias were planted in stony, 

 arid, desert soil; but the "more recently devel- 

 oped varieties of spineless opuntias appear to 

 have lost altogether under all circumstances the 

 capacity to revert to the spineless condition." 



The cactus is a funny plant — unlike all others. 

 If you put a joint or blossom, bud, or half- 

 grown fruit, almost anywhere, including your 

 pocket, it will sprout — but these must be 

 wilted before they grow! From a single slab 

 you may produce an entire field of spineless 

 opuntias. 



Seeds, therefore, are not needed, yet Burbank 

 has spent years trying to raise his smooth- 

 skinned opuntias from seeds, too. Millions 

 were planted, and at first the seedlings did not 

 breed at all true, but subsequent sowing resulted 

 in an ever-increasing proportion of spineless 

 seedlings. 



At the same time, since seeds are not really 

 necessary, Burbank has been busy trying to 

 eliminate them from his ''cactus pears," as he 

 prefers to call them instead of "prickly pears"; 

 and he is succeeding. "The improved varieties 

 have seeds not larger than those of the tomato, 

 although a little harder, and they may be 

 swallowed with impunity." In later experi- 

 ments the seeds were entirely absent. 



To these cactus pears Burbank attributes — 

 and for abundant reasons, which you should 



