LUTHER BURBANK 



Should this prediction come true, my ideal of 

 a spineless cactus bearing smooth-skinned fruit 

 ■will at last be realized. 



The Character of the Cactus Pear 



Meantime the endeavor to improve the size 

 and quality of the cactus fruit has met with signal 

 success. 



Generation after generation, the "pears" grown 

 on the improved cactus plant have kept pace with 

 the improvement of the plants themselves, until 

 the different new varieties of cactus now bear 

 fruits almost as varied in quality as the different 

 varieties of apples, and perhaps rather more 

 varied than the different varieties of cultivated 

 pears. 



The fruit of the wild species of cactus varies 

 widely in size and form, as well as in texture and 

 flavor. My cultivated varieties, how^ever, have 

 been made to assume an almost imiform oval 

 form. Or perhaps barrel-shaped would better 

 describe the new cactus fruit. The individual 

 fruits are three or four inches in length, and in 

 some cases they weigh half a pound, although the 

 average weight is considerably less than this. 



The skin of the fruit is readily removed by 

 cutting off a thin slice at each end and making an 

 incision the length of the fruit, and peeling the 

 skin back. 



[218] 



