Arizona Gardens 219 
the cacti, which give to an Arizona garden 
its peculiar character and distinguish it from 
all otherwild gardens. Foremost among these 
is, of course, the saguaro, which would in 
itself sufficiently distinguish any region. It 
ascends the slopes, it stands on the ridge, it 
guards the cliffs—erect and rigid as stone; 
sometimes forming a cross against the sky, 
sometimes presenting queer shapes suggesting 
the trunks of elephants or the tusks of mam- 
moths. The ocotilla is quite as pronounced 
and individual, and now in April is very 
striking with its whiplike branches, arrayed 
in leaves growing close to the stem, and bear- 
ing terminal racemes of scarlet blossoms. 
Barrel cacti are disposed here and there: 
large squat vegetables, several feet in height 
and half as much in diameter, resembling a 
young saguaro but armed with an entirely 
different sort of spines of a reddish hue. The 
pulp contains considerable moisture which 
may be obtained by cutting a hole in the 
top and pounding the pulp until the water is 
squeezed out. 
Of chollas there are several common species: 
a spiny irascible race of the genus Opuntia. 
One species is commonly known as ‘‘buckhorn 
cactus’ and this you may approach with 
