February, 1910.] 



117 



Edible Products* 



pear ; those of the spineless forms, which 

 also grow in North Africa (Tunis, etc.) 

 and probably contain less sugar, do 

 not appear to be used by the natives 

 as food. Further, the collection of the 

 fruits is exceedingly unpleasant work, 

 and the cost of collecting them in quan- 

 tity as food for stock would be quite 

 considerable. The same objection would 

 apply to their suggested use for distil- 

 lation purposes, while the vegtative parts 

 are too bulky in regard to the small 

 amount of fermentable carbo-hydrate 

 they contain, to make it profitable to 

 use them for this or any similar purpose. 



Spineless Cacti. 

 According to reliable information, 

 some of the spineless cacti sold by Bur- 

 bank have been privately imported 

 into Victoria with the intention of en- 

 couraging farmers to plant them as 

 fodder for cattle. It is not likely that 

 any forms of cactus will thrive to such 

 an extent as to become pests in the 

 colder and wetter regions of Victoria, 

 but this might be the case in the drier 

 and warmer North-Western districts. 

 It must be remembered that there is 

 always a possibility of the spineless 

 ferms reverting, when wild, to the spiny 

 condition. Apart from this, the fodder 

 value, even of the spineless forms of 

 cactus, is not very great. They are 

 more stores of water than of food. In 

 addition, they contain a certain amount 

 of tough fibre, which has been known 

 to cause impaction in stock grazing 

 upon them, and which is only softened 

 by prolonged boiling The usual effect 

 of such watery food is. however, to 

 cause scouring, and this, coupled with 

 the tendency of the plants to become 

 acid during the night-time, prevents 

 stock from fattening when fed exclu- 

 sively upon them. Pigs will chew spine- 

 less cacti and reject the fibre, and stock 

 in general take it rather as a source 

 of water than of food, although cows 

 will swallow it like other food. A.s far 

 as the evidence goes, therefore, it is 

 not possible at present to recommend 

 the cultivation of the spineless forms 

 of cacti, and in fact, the farmer who 

 encourages the development on his land 

 of any form of cactus at present defi- 

 nitely known to science will be ill 

 advised. 



The common prickly cactus is pro- 

 claimed for the whole State. If Bur- 

 bank's spineless cacti are varieties of 

 this species (Opuntia monacantha) they 

 are also proclaimed, and it would be 

 illegal to spread or propagate them in 

 "Victoria. There does not, at present, 

 appear to be any reason for relaxing 



the proclamation in regard to the spine- 

 less varieties and, until more is known 

 about them, it would not be safe to 

 do so. 



INDIAN CORN AS A SUGAR 

 PRODUCER. 



(From the Louisiana Planter and 

 Sugar Manufacturer, Vol. XLII., No. 8, 

 February, 1909.) 



The present movement in the direction 

 of conservation of the natural resources 

 of the country and the appointment of 

 a national commission to act in concert 

 with the executive department of the 

 Government, state and national, has 

 raised unusual interest, so says our 

 old friend Prof. F. L. Stewart of Murrys- 

 ville, Pa., who for many years has been 

 engaged more or less in his propaganda 

 urging the utilisation of Indian corn as 

 a sugar-producing plant. In this in- 

 terest he has recently issued an open 

 letter to all concerned, showing that 

 here in America we are wasteful of our 

 natural advantages, and further, that we 

 are wasteful of some of the acquired 

 advantages which are the result of the 

 natural fertility of our soils and of 

 our climate for the production of certain 

 plants. Prof. Stewart adverts to the 

 fact that although Indian corn has been 

 cultivated nearly all over the world 

 since its discovery by Columbus in this 

 country over four hundred years ago, 

 the plant has not yet been nearly 

 utilised in any proper measure. It has 

 been found by analysis and by actual ex- 

 periment in stock feeding that the 

 stalks of Indian corn can be shredded 

 into a hay-like mass which is digestible 

 by animals as hay is, and is worth 

 pound for pound as much as good 

 average hay. Even corn cobs, when 

 carefully ground are found to be diges- 

 tible by animals to a very considerable 

 extent, and hence valuable as a food 

 stuff, and more particularly in combi- 

 nation with the rest of the corn plant. 



Prof. Stewart, however, desires to 

 call the attention of the American 

 people to the fact that the corn plant 

 is a plastic one aud can be so cultivated 

 as to have a value very similar to that of 

 sugar cane. This can be done by the 

 removal of the immature ear of corn 

 from the stalk at the proper time. The 

 direst result of this is an indefinite 

 prolongation of the life of the plant and 

 gradually by constant accumulation of 

 sugar until it reaches a point where it 

 equals the average in sugar cane and 

 the sugar beet. Coincident with this in 

 the secondary result and equally in- 

 teresting and important is the fact that 



