11Q CACTUS CULTURE FOR AMATEURS. 



O. Dlllenil. 



Stems erect, robust, attaining a height of 15 feet, with flattenecU 

 ovate joints, about 5 inches long by 3 inches broad. Cushions 

 composed of short, white, hair-like bristles, and numerous long, 

 stout, yellow spines. Flowers yellow, tinged with red, 4 inches in 

 diameter, freely produced on the ends of the youngest joints all 

 summer. Fruits similar to those of 0. Ficas-indica. West Indies, 

 but naturalised in many warmer parts of the world. In India it is 



Tig. 57. Fruiting Branch of Opuntia Ficus-indica. 



so plentiful and widespread that it has been supposed to be a 

 native. There it is often planted as a hedge, and its fruits are 

 eaten by the poor. It is a great pest in the open lands of that 

 country, large sums being annually expended in cutting it down and 

 burying it. Is also employed in the cultivation of cochineal. 

 Requires warm greenhouse treatment. (Fig. 50.) 



O. Emoryi. 



Stems prostrate, spreading, less than H feet high. Joints 

 cylindrical curved, 4 inches long, 1.J- inches thick. Tubercles very 

 prominent, crowned with pea-shaped cushions of short bristles, 



