LUTHER BURBANK 



A cactus plant pulled from the ground and 

 tied by a string to the branch of a tree remained 

 hanging in the air for six years and eight months. 

 During this time it had no source of nourishment, 

 and its slabs withered and turned brown. But, 

 planted again by sticking one of its slabs six 

 inches in the ground, it immediately took root, 

 and within a few weeks began to throw out new 

 blossoms and slabs. 



Another detached cactus slab, long forgotten 

 in a closet, and after having been in the dark 

 lor more than a year, was found to have thrown 

 out a sickly looking baby slab when the closet 

 door was left open for a few days. 



The more the adaptability of the present- 

 day cactus and its tenacious hold on life are 

 observed, the easier it becomes to understand 

 its fight against a devouring enemy which lived 

 during the desert-forming age, and to see the 



origin of the thorny cactus of today. 



* * * * * 



Nor is the cactus the only desert plant which 

 shows evidences of such a struggle. 



The goldenrods of the desert are more bitter 

 than the goldenrods of the plains. 



The wormwood of the desert is more bitter 

 even than the wormwood which grows where there 

 have been fewer enemies. 



[26] 



