THE THORNLESS EDIBLE CACTUS 



while in the fruit from another plant the flesh 

 is crimson. It is delicious to the taste. To 

 some it has the flavor of a peach, to some a 

 melon, to some the suggestion of a pineapple, 

 to some a blackberry — to every one who tastes 

 it a different flavor from anything before 

 eaten. It is, indeed^anew taste for the palate* 

 of the world. Tit may be eaten fresh or cooked, 

 r or itrmy-be preserved. The thalli, too, have a 

 peculiarly attractive flavor when cooked and 

 may be eaten in a variety of ways, or they 

 may be put up as ginger or melon rinds are 

 preserved. As a food for cattle the thalli are 

 peculiarly rich, at least one half as nutritious 

 as alfalfa, and they will produce the finest 

 beef, mutton and pork. 



It is quite significant, it may be said in 

 passing, that at a time when industrious 

 explorers of the United States Government 

 were scouring the desert places of the earth 

 in search of a thornless cactus which they 

 thought might be introduced into the arid 

 regions of America, finding at last in Algeria 

 a prickly pear almost spineless, Mr. Burbank 

 had been for years cultivating tens of thou- 

 sands of cacti upon his proving grounds, 



155 



