THE NEW OPUNTIAS 



Only the barest outline of their individual 

 characteristics may here be given. 



Along with the production of these entirely 

 new opuntias has gone the development and 

 improvement of old varieties. These have 

 been advanced by constant selection and 

 crossing far beyond the point they had reached 

 unaided by man, and extensive tests are still 

 in progress among them. It is of interest to 

 note that one or two of these latter which 

 were recently discovered by an agent of the 

 government in a foreign land, and brought to 

 this country for experimentation, had already 

 been under test in Mr. Burbank's proving 

 grounds for years, while another, thus discov- 

 ered and brought to the United States, prac- 

 tically identical with them, had been growing 

 in California for over thirty years. 



In order to secure definite data as to the 

 composition of the cacti under test, Mr. BurJ 

 bank submitted a number of the new opuntias 

 to Professor M. E. Jaffa, of the Department 

 of Chemistry in the State University of Cali- 

 fornia, a very careful analyst. His analyses 

 are here given, supplying important informa- 

 tion on this point. 



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