LUTHER BURBANK 



be the best way to plant the cactus, as by this 

 arrangement space is left for general cultivation 

 and for gathering the crop; otherwise the plants 

 would too completely cover the ground. 



The young plants must have protection from 

 marauding beasts. Squirrels and rabbits are par- 

 ticularly fond of the young slabs, and in a country 

 infested by these creatures it may be necessary to 

 fence in a young field of cactus until it attains a 

 considerable growth. Needless to say, it must be 

 protected from the encroachments of farm ani- 

 mals, as they would destroy the young plants 

 utterly. 



When the Opuntia attains a reasonable size, 

 it becomes, as already pointed out, a perennial 

 source of forage. The plants live to an indefinite 

 age, and year by year they put out new slabs, 

 which may be cut at any season for feeding 

 purposes. 



It is best to cut the forage, and not to give the 

 animals access to the growing plants, as in the 

 latter case they would waste the feed and seriously 

 injure or destroy the plants. The central stems 

 of the old plants, however, attain a woody char- 

 acter that protects them against extermination by 

 stock. 



In practical feeding, it is desirable, where pos- 

 sible, to combine the Opuntia slabs with straw, 



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