(139) 
3187. Velvet bean.—Mucuna utilis Wall. Native of tropical America and widely 
cultivated. Collected by H. H. Rusby at Miami, Florida. 
3188. Another specimen of the same. Same collection. 
3189. Lion velvet bean.—Another variety of the same. Same collection. 
3190. Jack bean. Chickasaw Lima bean.—Canavali ensiformis DC. Native 
of tropical America and cultivated. Same collection. 
THE CACTUS FAMILY (Cactaceae) 
The stems of most members of this family, often called “leaves” by careless 
persons, because of their broad and flattened forms, are soft and juicy, and serve 
as storage reservoirs for water during the rainy season, this water serving the plant 
during the long dry seasons of desert regions. This water-storage tissue is not only 
succulent and thirst-quenching, but is rich in nutritious matter, so that it has 
come to be used largely as fodder for domestic animals, and to some extent as food 
for man. The thorns and prickles which are thickly borne by most cactuses are 
highly objectionable, producing inflammation, often fatal, in the digestive organs 
of the animals. For this reason, the stems are usually roasted or singed in the 
flame before being fed. The discovery of varieties which were free from these 
irritating appendages has led to successful efforts to breed cultivated varieties 
of this sort. In this work Mr. Luther Burbank has been very active, and some 
of his varieties, here shown, are largely cultivated in the southwestern United 
States. These specimens were collected from plants growing in the conservatory 
of the New York Botanical Garden. 
3191. Actual spineless cactus. 
3192. Arbiter spineless cactus. 
3193. Market spineless cactus. 
3194. Melrose spineless cactus. 
3195. Niagara spineless cactus. 
3196. Opaline spineless cactus. 
3197. Quillota spineless cactus. 
3198. Robusta spineless cactus. 
3199. Signal spineless cactus. 
3200. Western mugwort.—The herbage of Artemisia gnaphalodes Nutt. (Cardua- 
ceae—Thistle Family). Native of northwestern North America. Occa- 
sionally eaten by stock when nothing better is obtainable. 
FOODS 
It is intended to exhibit in this collection specimens of all 
obtainable plants which contribute food or food-products 
for the use of man. In these cases will be found a number 
of articles that are also represented among the poisonous 
plants. In such cases the poisonous properties are due 
to the presence of certain constituents which it is possible 
to remove by cooking or other processes, leaving an edible 
and nutritious residue. As illustrations of this class, we 
