Some Experiments of Luther Burbank 



later the spicules even within the substance of the 

 cactus have been removed so as to make the cactus 

 very excellent food for cattle. This will have very 

 great value in the arid regions. Some cacti lose 

 the thorns on the plant but retain them on the 

 fruit ; others vice versa. By crossing and extensive 

 and intensive selection a cactus may be improved 

 in various ways besides being deprived of thorns 

 and of the internal spicules in six or less gener- 

 ations; these, by means of cuttings, may be 

 multiplied rapidly to any extent, but the process, 

 to be complete, generally takes longer. This 

 thornless cactus should prove of very great value 

 in the development of desert regions as Arizona 

 or Sonora, as the quantity of food produced per 

 acre is enormous. Its value is being already 

 (1908) fully tested on a large scale near Indio, 

 in California, and in the state of Victoria in 

 Australia. It is evident that the thornless cactus 

 cannot be expected to flourish as a wild plant on 

 the desert, for cattle and other browsing animals 

 would devour it root and branch. Its effectiveness 



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