TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 265 



are of great interest and at- 

 traeiton. 



Some of these prairie cacti 

 and the various near-related 

 dagger plants prefer an especial 

 soil and environments to 

 thrive in. The large leafed and 

 brilliantly blooming and most 

 common opuntia cactus, with 

 its yellowish, star-shaped blos- 

 soms and intense red color of 

 the oval-shaped berries, and 

 others, the brilliant cereus cac- 

 tus, and a host of others, all 

 thrive on "any old" soil, though 

 the latter, including the sharp 



In a write-up in our Sunday's 

 Express, some years ago, on 

 these typical prairie plants, the 

 following was mentioned by 

 the writer: "If one passes on 

 down' Alamo Plaza along the 

 finest ornamental city park of 

 all Texas, a group of Texas and 

 Mexican cactus plants can be 

 seen near the center of that ele- 

 gant park, close to the band- 

 stand, and surrounded by ever- 

 green tropical plants and pala- 

 tial modern buildings. 



"Few persons, however, may 

 be aware that those peculiar 



Gathering Wild Flowers Along the Charming San Antonio River 



dagger-ornamented melon cac- 

 tus, thrive best in hilly and 

 rocky regions all over South- 

 west Texas, and where they de- 

 light the eye with their attract- 

 ive colors. 



As a rule these cactus plants 

 bloom but a few days, when the 

 stamina is converted into the 

 globular fruit of deep red and 

 very attractive color. Some of 

 these cactus berries, when en- 

 tirely ripe, are edible, especially 

 to song-birds, also to the ro- 

 dents and other animals of the 

 cactus jungles. 



and interesting pachydermatoid 

 plants once decorated the wild 

 jungles of prairie plains and 

 had been transplanted to a 

 place where they now are ad- 

 mired by thousands of tourists 

 the year over and people con- 

 gregating daily along Alamo 

 Plaza Park. And, whilst tropi- 

 cal Mexico is the ideal land of 

 cacti, our fine Texas climate 

 also furnishes a large variety 

 of these interesting plants. 



"I wish to call attention to the 

 broadfaced prickly pear cactus 

 (Opuntia Engelmanii), that un- 



