Collecting Wild Thorny Cactus in Australia, Where It Is Fed in Quantities 



we get more fat cattle per cent from that pad- 

 dock than from any of the others. 



I consider cattle fed on cactus like these are 

 to have as fine flavored beef as any I have tasted 

 in San Francisco or New Zealand. 



The hogs, with the exception of a light daily 

 ration of corn, fed to keep them tame, live ex- 

 clusively on the young leaves and fruit, which 

 are fed to them by herders, and thrive wonder- 

 fully. 



L. VON TEMPSKY, 

 Manager Haleakala Ranch Co. 



In Texas, William St. Clair, a successful 

 cattleman, who has for years been using 

 the wild, thorny cactus for cattle food, 

 writes : 



"We find it very poor policy to put the slightest 

 limit on the amount our cows get. The more 

 they can eat, the better they thrive, and the 

 more milk they give. There is nothing that sets 

 them back more than a shortage of cactus. If we 

 happen to be short of milk, the cause is almost 

 invariably traced to the lack of cactus." 



H. W. Giddens of the Giddens Stock 

 Farm, Texas, says : 



"Cactus produces a good, rich, grass-colored 

 butter, without any odor or flavors. We feed in 

 the field, and simply singe the spines." 



Actual feeding tests with a large num- 

 ber of stock have been held where the 

 chief food for the stock consisted of wild 

 cactus. It was found that under adverse 

 conditions the gain in weight was very 

 satisfactory and the cattle thrived exceed- 

 ingly well. The cattle were handled in 

 the same manner as the ordinary stock, 

 and were shipped into the Eastern market, 

 where they brought the highest prices. 



Innumerable instances might be cited 

 in addition to the foregoing which show 

 the satisfactory results of feeding the 

 wild, thorny cactus, aside from the dis- 

 advantages occasioned by thorns. 



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