LUTHER BURBANK 



of juiciness and texture is suggestive of a melon. 

 Some people have compared its flavor to that of 

 the cantaloupe. In other varieties the flavor sug- 

 gests the raspberry. 



But, as already suggested, there is no standard 

 of comparison that gives a clear conception of 

 the taste of the fruit. 



The one conspicuous drawback is that the cac- 

 tus fruit is filled with seeds. In the case of some 

 of the wild varieties, the seeds are large and es- 

 pecially hard, but even these are habitually swal- 

 lowed by the people who eat the fruit. The im- 

 proved varieties have seeds scarcely larger than 

 those of the tomato, although a little harder, and 

 they may be swallowed with impunity. 



I have never known of anyone being injiu^ed 

 by eating the cactus fruit in any quantity. 



It goes without saying that I have long had in 

 mind to remove the seeds from the fruit of the 

 perfected varieties of cactus fruit. Something has 

 already been accomplished toward this in the re- 

 duction of the size of the seed as just referred to. 

 But it will require a long series of experiments 

 to eliminate the seeds altogether. The seeds are 

 not collected at the center of the fruit as in the 

 apple and pear and allied fruits, but are distrib- 

 uted somewhat evenly through the pulp, after the 

 manner of the seeds of the watermelon. 



[234] 



