212 The Cactus. 



is a cavity in the bottom of the apparent stalk of the flower; it 

 contains a great number of young seeds, attached to the lining 

 of the cavity in eight rows, or placenta?, each hanging from the 

 point of a long slender thread. The style rises like a graceful 

 column from the top of the ovary, and after reaching a little be- 

 yond the limb of the anthers, divides into eight short narrow 

 fringed arms, forming a beautiful star of eight rays. After a 

 few days, or even hours, all this gorgeous panoply fades away, 

 the stamens wither, the starry stigma closes its rays, and the style, 

 no longer able to support it, curves downwards beneath its weight ; 

 the floral leaves droop, their colors become deadened, their firm- 

 ness and elasticity are replaced by a soft and slimy ooze, and 

 quickly afterwards the whole of this once lovely apparatus is 

 thrown off by the ovary which enlarges, becomes pulpy, acquires 

 a new color, matures its small brown seeds, and finally becomes 

 a fruit so similar to that of a gooseberry, that for a long time the 

 latter and the Cactus were thought to be related. Its seeds con- 

 tain an embryo coiled up in the shell which accurately fits it, and 

 having a long slender rootlet with two distinct seed leaves. This 

 kind of structure, however, is not universal in the Cactus tribe. 

 It sometimes happens that the embryo is straight, and almost des- 

 titute of seed leaves, their presence being only indicated by a 

 little notch at the end, an interesting though unusual circum- 

 stance, showing that the habit of growing without leaves is not 

 confined to the stem, but is to be met in some species even in 

 the embryo itself. The similarity of the Cactus fruit to the 

 gooseberry is not confined to the appearance alone but extends 

 to the flavor, texture, and quality. So wholesome indeed is it, 

 that it is an important object of cultivation' in some countries. 

 On Etna, for example, the large cooling fruits of the Indian fig 

 are sold in considerable quantity, and some of the varieties are 

 found to be of great excellence. In the West Indies and South 

 America, Cactus fruit is often consumed as gooseberries. 



We have seen this species form fences by the road-sides, for 

 twenty miles in length, the spines and prickles making them 

 impassable to any animals endowed with nerves. These prickles 

 are used as needles ; the inner bark makes a delicious and nutri- 

 tive soup ; and the wood is not only used by the negroes for 

 fuel, but in the manufacture of torches, for which it is well adapt- 

 ed. We have seen a general illumination on the hills, arising 



