CHAPTER IV 



THE SMALLER CACTI, SHRUBS, AND FLOWERS 



The cacti, children of the desert — The biznaga or "nigger-head" — 

 An emergency water-supply — The villainous cholla — A cactus 

 that jumps — The Devil's Garden — A torturing imp — Deer-horn 

 cactus and the cactus wren — Gorgeous blossoms — Beware of 

 hasilaris — Fish-hook cactus or chilito — The ubiquitous creosote- 

 bush — Solitude and monotony — Arrowweed thickets — Pro- 

 tective shapes — Desert holly — The self-defensive agave — 

 Indian confectionery — Baking mescal — A floral surprise, the 

 desert lily — The encelia or incense-plant — Billows of bloom — 

 An ambiguous color — The desert verbena — Rose-purple acres 

 — A memorable spring flower show. 



THE desert is the kingdom of the cacti, for the 

 cacti are the special offspring of the desert. 

 With ingenious pains Nature has wrought out this 

 unique family, fitted to endure the very reverse of 

 ordinary plant conditions. Their part is to hold the 

 frontier that meets the Empire of Drought, and 

 they are shaped and armed for the task. Since leaves 

 yield too much to evaporation, spines and thorns 

 are adopted. Rainfall being a matter of doubt, the 

 cactus models itself on the canteen, and fills up 

 to the limit when it gets the chance. And since a 

 canteen is a temptation to thirsty tramps such as 

 jack-rabbit and coyote, the spines are hooked, 

 barbed, clawed, and made as generally troublesome 

 as possible. Yet, it seems as if when the matter of 

 blossoms came up. Nature's heart relented: she 

 could not bring herself to fashion a forbidding flower. 

 After the giant saguaro, described in the previous 



