CPUNIIi, gj 



the plants. They grow in any dry sandy soil, and will subsist where 

 scarcely any other vegetation is found— namely, on the porous lavas of 

 volcanic districts. In Sicily a striking instance of this is seen, for there 

 the Opuiitia vulgaris grows and thrives in what would otherwise be sterile 

 districts ; and ia this power of preparing sterile soils for other vegetation, 

 the Opuntias strangely resemble the Mosses, Lichens, and similar minute 

 cryptogamic plants. 



In so large a genus as Opuntia it would be unnecessary to enumerate 

 many of the species as, except in a botanical point of view, a good proportion 

 are of little interest. A few of the best may, however, be noted. 



O. VULGARIS, Miller ( GacUts Opuntia, Linnasus). — In Gerarde's " Catalogue 

 ■of Plants," published in 1596, this Opuntia is mentioned, and it also appears 

 in the " Herball " under the name of Ficus indica, the Indian Pig Tree, so 

 that it has been grown in this country for nearly 300 years, and is, therefore, 

 "the patriarch of the Cactese. It had, however, been then grown for some 

 years in South Europe, and Gerarde obtained his plants from Zaate through 

 his servant Marshall ; but the exact time of its introduction does not appear 

 to be known, though it probably occurred shortly after the Spanish expedi- 

 tions to America early in the sixteenth century. Gerarde states that he was 

 unable to fruit the plant, although he had " bestowed great pains and cost 

 in keeping it from the injury of our clymat." In Johnson's edition of 

 Oerarde's "Hirball" (1633), a fairly accurate figure is given of the plant, and 

 from that it is evident that he succeeded in flowering it as freely as conld be 

 ■desired, and we cannot do much more now without protection. Having 

 been so long cultivated in Europe it has extended into most of the warmer 

 districts of Spain, Italy, and the Mediterranean Islands and North Africa, 

 and there, under the influence of a higher temperature, the fruit ripens 

 Teadily. Large quantities of these are consumed in those countries, and some 

 are imported to England, where, with the fruits of a few other species, they 

 are sold under the name of Prickly Pears. They are esteemed by some 

 persons, but they are more usually employed as a curiosity in dishes of 

 dessert, as the minute spines w^hich cover the skin render the fruit in some 

 degree dangerous if not very carefully peeled. At one time they were sold 

 at from id. to 6d. each, but in recent years they havd been so abundant 

 that they occasionally appear on street stalls and barrows in London at the 

 popular price of two for a penny. In Sicily it is very abundant, and during 

 three months of the year it is said to form " an important portion of the 

 inhabitants' diet, though generally considered insipid by strangers." 



The common Indian Fig is rather dwarf in habit, with flat, rounded, 

 spiny branches, upon the edges of which its rich golden yellow flowers are 

 freely produced, and the plant is then decidedly ornamental. It is one of 

 the best of the Cactese for culture on a rockery, and is often left quite un- 

 protected, though a handlight is beneficial to throw off excessive rain, and 

 the plants eo treated always have a better appearance than those constantly 



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