LUTHER BURBANK 



The growth of the plants is so prolific that the 

 total weight of the new slabs grown in a single 

 season, under favorable conditions, has been esti- 

 mated at almost one hundred tons to the acre. 

 On the best agricultural grounds, as on my own 

 grounds at Santa Rosa, the plants have produced 

 quite five hundred tons per acre in their first four 

 years of growth. This is from some of the most 

 highly improved varieties, on the best of land, but 

 without irrigation or special fertilization. 



Of course this growth would not be duplicated 

 on all soils or under all conditions, but even in 

 inferior soils the growth of the Opuntias is phe- 

 nomenal, and the amount of forage produced each 

 season is greatly in excess of that produced by 

 any other forage plant, not excepting alfalfa. 



When the extraordinary weight of fruit that is 

 borne by some varieties is further taken into con- 

 sideration, it becomes evident that the new spine- 

 less Opuntia is the most productive plant ever cul- 

 tivated. It is within the possibilities that a field 

 of Opuntias, under ideal conditions of cultivation, 

 might yield in new slabs and in fruit an aggregate 

 edible product approximating five hundred tons 

 to the acre. This has already been attained in 

 smaller areas. 



As to soil, the Opuntias grow everywhere. They 

 may be planted on rich level land, or on the steep- 



