How THE Cactus Got Its Spines 

 —And How It Lost Them 



A Sidelight on 

 The Importance of Environment 



IT IS the acre-and-a-quarter patch of spineless 

 cactus on Luther Burbank's experiment farm 

 which first strikes the visitor's eye. In the 

 same j'^ard there are 2500 other experiments under 

 way — new flowers, fruits, vegetables, trees and 

 plants of all descriptions such as man has never 

 before seen, but the velvet slabbed cactus — freed 

 from its thorns — seems more than a plant trans- 

 formation, it seems a miracle. Since the spineless 

 cactus represents the typical Burbank boldness 

 of conception, and reflects the typical Burbank 

 skillful execution, we may as well begin with it. 



It occurred to Luther Burbank one day that 

 every plant growing on the desert was either 

 bitter, or poisonous, or spiny. It was this simple 

 observation which gave him the idea of this new 



[Volume I — Chapter I] 



