so CACTACEOUS PLANTS. 



very prominent upon the young growth of O. vulgaris and others, but they 

 either become shrivelled and scarcely perceptible as the stem increases ia 

 -age, or they fall off, and they never advance beyond the rudimentary state 

 mentioned. Structurally this is interesting, as it is a step towards the 

 leaves which we find so strongly developed in the next genus, Pereskia. 

 The intermediate gradations appear to have been lost, for the transition is 

 a very sudden one from the grotesque Opuntias to the comparatively 

 slightly modified Pereskia, which makes the nearest approach to the 

 ordinary characters of flowering plants. 



The floral structure o£ the Indian Figs does not present any strongly 

 marked variations. The sepals and petals are very numerous and in- 

 distinguishable, the outer generally narrow, the inner broader and spread- 

 ing. The stems are shorter than the petals in a dense central cluster, 

 above which the five to seven-lobed stigma is slightly raised. A large 

 proportion of the species have yellow or orange- coloured flowers, and 

 "though some of these are exceedingly handsome the majority are not very 

 imposing and of little value in gardens. The fruits, which have given 

 <the popular name to this genus, are comparatively large, 3 to 4 inches 

 long and 2 to 3 inches in diameter, egg-sbapad, or in a few cases some- 

 what Pear-like in form, covered with clusters of minute spines, and 

 •containing a sweet or sub-acid pulp of a rather agreeable flavour. Over 

 150 species are known, all natives of America, principally California, 

 Mexico, Chili, and Peru, but two or three have been so long naturalised 

 in South Europe, North and South Africa, and other widely separated 

 portions of the globe, that they have become as abundant as native 

 plants, and are often regarded as such by travellers. 



One highly important service the Opuntias render to man in the dis- 

 -tricts where they thrive — they make admirable live fences or natural 

 barriers, and for this purpose they are largely employed, not only in 

 America, but also in South Africa. In one remarkable instance it is 

 recorded that when the Island of St. Christopher in the West Indies was 

 divided between the French and English, three rows of Opuntia Tuna 

 were planted to mark the boundary. As an effectual protection against 

 ■depredators of all kinds the Opuntias arc indeed useful " hedge " plants, as 

 they form a dense growth, the branches closely interlacing and bristling 

 with spines — a veritable olievanx de /;'ise— absolutely impassable. The 

 value of such a defence can be fully appreciated in the countries where it 

 ia most employed, and where, without its aid, man would be almost power- 

 less to prevent the devastating inroads of many enemies. When employed 

 in this way portions of the branches are broken off and placed in trenches 

 of a suitable depth, and there ends the attention afforded to or needed by 



