ON THE SPINELESS CACTUS 



therefore, that would grow luxuriantly in arid 

 places, would be reasonably hardy and resistant 

 to extremes of temperature, and would produce 

 an abundance of succulent forage as well as a 

 supply of palatable fruit. 



I repeat that I have still to see a form of 

 Opuntia that is of good size and suitable for forage 

 and yet that is altogether free from spines and 

 spicules, except the ones that have been developed 

 in my experiment gardens, and their progeny; and 

 no such variety has yet been reported, although 

 the authorities of the Agricultural Department of 

 Washington scoured the earth to find such a 

 variety. 



These, indeed, are Opuntias fulfilling every 

 specification of spineless forage plants of reason- 

 able hardiness, great adaptability as to soil and 

 easy culture, and enormous productivity; and they 

 are wonderful fruit producers as well. But they 

 are the result of a most arduous series of experi- 

 ments in plant development, and they constitute 

 new races, entitled to the rank of new species if 

 ordinary botanical standards are to be accepted, 

 that have been developed here, and that, so far as 

 there is any evidence, had never previously existed 

 anywhere in the world. 



Their descendants have gone forth to begin the 

 reclamation of the arid places of many lands, and 



[195] 



