THE CACTUS PEAR 11 



Should this come true, my ideal of a spineless 

 cactus variety bearing smooth-skinned fruit will 

 at last be wholly realized. 



The Character of the Cactus Pear 



Meantime the endeavor to improve the size 

 and quality of the cactus fruit has met with 

 signal success. 



Generation after generation the "pears" 

 grown on the improved cactus plant have kept 

 pace with the improvement of the plants them- 

 selves, until the different new varieties of cactus 

 now bear fruits almost as varied in quality as the 

 different varieties of apples, and perhaps rather 

 more varied than the different varieties of culti- 

 vated pears. 



The fruit of the wild species of cactus varies 

 somewhat widely in size and form, as well as in 

 texture and flavor. My cultivated varieties, how- 

 ever, have been made to assume an almost uni- 

 form oval form. Or perhaps barrel-shaped 

 would better describe the new cactus fruit. The 

 individual fruits are three or four inches in 

 length, and in some cases they weigh half a 

 pound, although the average weight is consider- 

 ably less than this. 



The skin of the fruit is readily removed by 

 cutting off a thin slice at each end and making 



