109 



airampo ' being a native term applied locally 

 to any such Prickly-pear. In addition to 0. 

 airampo, which is a spineless species, there is a 

 small low-growing spiny form whiei^ Dr. Soehrens 

 stated was grown on the Andes at Arequipa and 

 Cuzco (Peru) and also in adjacent parts of 

 Bolivia for the sake of its fruit, which was used 

 in the same way as 0. airampo. The species is 

 evidently 0. microdasia, Webr., as described by 

 Schumann (1899, p. 743). Spegazzini (1905, p. 

 514), in referring to this Opuntia, which occurs 

 in Argentina on the high mountains in Salta and 

 Tucuman, states that the red fruit is used by the 

 inhabitants for staining wool and is called 

 airampo. 



As Cattle Fodder. — Various cacti are used 

 as in Australia, Mexico, the United States^ 

 and South Africa, as a fodder for stock 

 during times of scarcity. In some localities 

 a few plants may be grown as a stand-by. At 

 Joazeiro (State of Bahia) there is said to be a 

 Government plantation of " palmadora grande" 

 (the Mission Pear of North America?) and the 

 local Melocactus (Jf. depressus), while in other 

 parts of that State a few individual plants are 

 not infrequently cultivated by villagers in order 

 to feed their animals. Those most commonly used 

 in Bahia are, naturally, those found wild. Both 

 indigenous species of Opuntia (0. cuipa and the 

 spiny palmadora), the Melocactus, both species of 

 mandagaru, the chiquechique cabeca branco and 

 verdadeiro as well as the caixa cube, are all used 

 as fodder for cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys. 

 Mules do not take to the diet. The thorns are 

 burnt off the spiny species and then the animals 

 eat the standing plants. Tall forms, such as the 

 mandagaru, are cut down. Since the spines are 

 small and soon fall away from the mandagaru de 

 facho, burning is not necessary and cattle eat the 

 branches as they lie on the ground. No other 

 fodder is fed to stock during times of drought, 

 so that they must live on the cacti and such other 

 food as they can pick up. In Argentina, 0. ficus- 

 indica is thus used and no doubt native species 

 are also made use of, for the same purpose. 



An unarmed species, 0. anacantha, Speg., 

 occurring in Northern Argentina, was sent by 

 Dr. Spegazzini to Algeria, where it has been 

 cultivated as an accessory stock food. This is 

 closely allied to 0. retrorsa and 0. stricta and 

 possesses long, narrow green joints with pro- 

 minent areoles bearing neither spines nor spinules. 

 It is quite distinct from the Burbank cactus 

 known as ' ' anacantha, ' ' which is a large-jointed 

 form with very few small spines, and is 

 apparently a variety of 0. decumana. 



A chemical examination of some South 

 American Opuntias has been made by Guthrie 

 (p. 671), who dealt with 0. monacantha and 0. 

 nigricans from New South Wales under the name 

 0. hrasiliensis and 0. elatior, respectively; and 

 by Griffiths and Hare (1906), who analysed 0. 

 monacantha (p. 62). The latter authors also 

 examined chemically the Mission Pear (pp. 72-3), 

 which appears to be the same species as that 

 known as the " palmadora grande" in Bahia. 



On the hot plains of South America during 

 the dry season, horses, mules, and even travellers, 

 at times quench their thirst by using the fluid 

 obtained by pounding up the fleshy Melocactus 

 found in those regions. It may be mentioned 



that Echinocactus is similarly utilised in Mexico 

 and the adjoining dry regions of the United 

 States. 



Timher.—'Tl-ui larger forms, e.g., Cereus, Cep- 

 halocereus, and Pilocereus, spp., supply fuel in 

 North-eastern Brazil. Timber is obtained from 

 both mandagaru de boi and mandagaru de facho. 

 Poles up to 25 feet in length and over 9 inches in 

 thickness at the base may frequently be got from 

 the latter species of mandagaru. These are used 

 very largely as rafters and supports in house con- 

 struction in the dry regions of Bahia State, where 

 other straight timber is not easily obtamable. 

 Both kinds of mandagaru supply wood which is 

 made into planks and used for making doors, 

 window shutters, rough furniture, &e. The nar- 

 row vascular cylinders of the foxtailed chique- 

 chique are sometimes used as pipe-stems (Bahia). 



Hedges.— K&nj species of Cereus and 

 Opuntia are utilised in South America (Colombia, 

 Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chili, &c.) 

 for making hedges as in other parts of the world. 

 Peireskia amapola, Web., is similarly used in 

 Paraguay. 



SUGGESTED DESTEUCTION BY OVER- 

 GROWTH OF GRASS, Etc. 



Dr. Derby, Director of the Geological Survey 

 of Brazil, in an interview, suggested that a 

 Brazilian fodder grass known as a honey grass, 

 called " capin mellado" in Rio 'Janeiro and 

 " catinguero roxo" in Sao Paulo, might act as 

 an exterminator of Prickly-pear without itself 

 becoming a pest. He stated that this grass is 

 liked by cattle. It takes almost complete posses- 

 sion of the ground, particularly if the soil be a 

 light clay loam. 



From an editorial article in the Journal 

 d 'Agriculture Tropicale (No. 12, 1902, p. 167), 

 it appears that M. Patin, the Consul for Belgium 

 in Colombia, published in 1900 or 1901 a method 

 for destroying Prickly-pear by fire, which was in 

 use in certain regions of South America. The 

 inhabitants first planted around the condemned 

 mass of Opuntia a leguminous plant capable of 

 quickly spreading so as to envelop eventually 

 every part of the Prickly-pears in a close network 

 consisting of its very numerous branches. Then 

 at the proper time the stems of these climbers are 

 cut, and as soon as the plants are dry they are 

 set fire to. The Opuntias become so much 

 damaged that it appeared to M. Patin that a 

 repetition of the operation would bring about 

 their complete destruction in a very simple 

 manner, the only objection to the method being 

 the length of time required. 



SUMMARY. 



Investigations were made in certain parts of 

 Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Chili, which 

 comprise only a small portion of the area where 

 Prickly-pears exist in abundance. 



No disease was seen which appeared to be 

 capable of doing much serious harm to Opuntias, 

 a possible exception being that produced by 

 Glceosporium which is kno-nm to occasion much 

 destruction in Texas under certain climatic con- 

 ditions. 



