120 THE FANTASTIC CLAN 



canvas in all the gorgeous tints and hues, the wonderful shad- 

 ings and tones of the Great Builder's masterpiece, save One, 

 the Master Mind who conceived and created all. 



GROWTH 



Strange as it may seem, these fierce Cholla, called also 

 Cane Cacti, belong to the same genus, Opiintia, with the 

 Prickly Pears. These two groups form the two sections of 

 the genus Opuntia, the Cylindropuntia representing the 

 Cholla, the Platopuntia the Prickly Pears. One sees at a 

 glance that the latter name applies to our platelike "flap- 

 jacks" of the desert, while the former name Cylindropuntia 

 applies to the Cholla section because the joints are cylindri- 

 cal and not flattened as in their cousin Platopuntia. "Opun- 

 tia" is derived from the Greek town of Opus, where some 

 plant like the cactus is said to have existed; "cholla" (pro- 

 nounced cholya, commonly choya) is of Spanish derivation 

 and means literally "head." The name was given because a 

 large number of these fierce species form their branches into 

 broad rounded heads. The designation "Cane Cacti" is also 

 applied to the Cholla in allusion to their stems, from which 

 cactus canes are manufactured. 



The two cousins in the same genus, so to speak, will be 

 found upon examination to differ greatly in several respects. 

 While the Prickly Pear is built up of thick or flattened plate- 

 like joints which sometimes look like pancakes, with the 

 spicules and spikes growing from little clusters over the sur- 

 face (which by the way are most treacherous), the structure 

 of the Cholla is found to be cylindrical, with very prominent 

 tubercles. Since the Cholla is a very fascinating, mysterious, 

 and unique member of the great cactus clan it will be well 

 to be a little graphic in his description, for he is all that we 

 may say about him, and more. He has as a rule a short main 



