LUTHER BURBANK 



"No favorite garden flower can outdo this 

 ungainly monster of the desert, when in bloom, 

 in the seductiveness of its advertisement to the 

 bee. 



"When summer comes, and the bee has paid, 

 by the service it lias rendered, for the honey it has 

 taken, the nest of fertile eggs beneath each cactus 

 blossom begins to grow into a luscious fruit. 



"In this cactus fruit there is an acid sweetness 

 as tempting as that of the raspberry, the straw- 

 berry or the pineapple. Its outward covering has 

 a brilliant beauty no less attractive than that of 

 the cherry, or the grape. 



"Thus, in the springtime, the cactus, like the 

 cherry, advertises to the friendly bees to bring 

 its offspring new heredities, and, in the fall, it 

 advertises to the friendly birds to carry off its 

 seed and plant it where its j^oung may have the 

 advantage of new environments. 



"In its spiny armor we read the plant's response 

 to the enemies in its environment. 



"In its brilliant flowers and tempting fruit we 

 read its receptiveness to the friendship of the birds 

 and bees. 



"Those spines and those flowers and fruits tell 

 us that while its ancestors ^^ere fighting a common 

 foe, they still found time to build up lasting 

 partnerships. 



[108] 



