NATIVE PEICKLY PEAR IN SOUTHERN TEXAS. 9 



YIELD WITH CULTIVATION. 



In April and early May, 1909, there were harvested 3 acres of prickly 

 pear planted in March, 1907. The ground was put in a good state of 

 cultivation when the cuttings were planted and was kept fairly well 

 cultivated the first year. The second year it was given no cultivation. 



It was not possible at this time to get weights. The best that could 

 be done was to determine the length of time the area would feed a 

 definite number of dairy cows all the roughage they would consume. 



During the feeding there was an extraordinary amount of waste, 

 for here, as in all other cases which have come under our observation, 

 cattle, when their feed is abundant, reject the young growth until the 

 joints are well filled out. The fact that the harvesting was done late 

 in the third growing season does not, therefore, in all probability, in- 

 troduce any appreciable error into the calculations if the current season 

 is discarded in our reasoning. All the roughage consumed for 1,510 

 cow-days was furnished by these 3 acres of a 2-year-old crop. This is 

 equivalent to a production of roughage for five cows on 6 acres of 

 ground. When the entire lack of cultivation and the second and only 

 moderate cultivation the first year are taken into account, this yield is 

 comparable with more accurate harvestings made by weighing on 

 another occasion. 1 



In March and April, 1910, another 3 acres of the same field were 

 harvested by being cut and a representative area was weighed. This 

 area was handled the same as the other 3 acres the first two years, and 

 was left and cultivated again the third year. The yield was at the 

 rate of 14.32 tons per acre per annum. 



This field was fenced and cattle kept out until the plants were well 

 started; then the gates were left open and cattle allowed to enter the 

 field at will. They did much to keep down certain weeds and native 

 grasses. 



In March, 1913, 1 acre of a 3-year-old crop, set from single-joint cut- 

 tings in the usual way in the spring of 1910, was cut and weighed. 

 The crop was grown upon land which had been set to a varietal collec- 

 tion for four or five years. It was in a good state of cultivation when 

 planted, so far as weeds were concerned, but it was very dry and cloddy. 

 During the first year the cultivation was satisfactory; the second year 

 it was all but abandoned, and during the third year an ineffectual at- 

 tempt was made to keep the weeds down. In all, the tract was not 

 over half cultivated during the entire period. 



The harvesting was done from March 12 to March 25, 1913, and 

 good stumps were left for future growth. The yield under the circum- 

 stances was very satisfactory, a total of 124,114 pounds being secured. 

 This is at the rate of 20.685 tons per acre per annum. 



i See Bureau of Plant Industry Bulletin 124, 1908. 



