Edible Products, 



504 



[June, 1910. 



blossoms a day, and in a plantation such 

 as might with success be opened in 

 Queensland and pollinating could be fin- 

 ished in an hour or two each morning. 



The success or otherwise of the 

 fertilising operation can be seen by the 

 second or at latest third day. When the 

 blossom opens the stalk of the flower, 

 which is really the embryo pod, is seen 

 to be a bright green colour. If the 

 pollination has been successful this 

 retains its colour, begins to swell 

 perceptibly by the second day, while 

 the blossom itself fades as quickly, 

 but docs not fall off, sometimes adhering 

 to the quickly growing pod for a month 

 or mure. If the operation on the other 

 hand has not been successful, the embryo 

 bean turns a yellow colour, does not 

 swell, and the blossom usually falls off 

 within three days, sometimes at once. 

 The pollinating is frequently left entire- 

 ly to women and girls in other coun- 

 tries, and is light and easy enough work 

 for them in this country. 



PRICKLY PEAR AS FODDER. 



(From the Indian Agriculturist, Vol. 



XXXIV., No. 2, February, 1909.) 

 The " prickly pears " belong to an ex- 

 tensive genus widely distributed in 

 America and the West Indies. Many 

 of the species have been introduced into 

 Southern Europe, Africa, Australia, and 

 elsewhere for the sake of their edible 

 fruits, and also owing to their utility as 

 hedge plants. All the species are more 

 or less fleshy, especially while young, 

 and most of them are armed with 

 strong sharp spines. 



The plants are available in large quan- 

 tities in many countries, and in some 

 of the Australian colonies have become 

 a pest, so that some method of utilising 

 them is highly desirable. The compo- 

 sition of the plants indicates that they 

 should be fairly nutritious as feeding- 

 stuffs for cattle, but a serious objection 

 to their use as a fodder is the presence 

 of the spines, which are not readily 

 rendered innocuous. 



A re'sume' of the methods available 

 for this purpose, and a large number of 

 analyses of prickly pear plants as 

 grown in the Southern States are given 

 in two Bulletins of the Bureau of Plant 

 Industry (Nos. 74 and 102. Part I.) pub- 

 lished recently by the United States 

 Department of Agriculture. 



The chemical composition shows that 

 the feeding value of these cacti com- 

 pares favourably with those of ordinary 

 green fodders and root crops. Although 

 the <f cane cacti" have a higher feeding 

 value than prickly pear, practical consi- 

 derations relating to growth and ease 

 of propagation render them of less value 

 than the latter, except where they are 

 naturally abundant. 



With the exception of Cereus gigun- 

 teus and Echinocactus Orcuttiisand a few 

 other rare species, the genus Opuntia 

 supplies the material mostly utilised 

 for fodder, and it is the flat-joiuted 

 forms which are principally employed 

 in America. There are about five 

 species in the cylindrical-jointed group 

 which have been used with some success, 

 namely, O, imbricata from Mexico, 

 O. arborescens, O. fulgida, and O. pro- 

 lifera from the coastal regions of 

 Southern California. Of these, prob- 

 ably the most valuable are O. fulgida 

 and O. imbricata. 



Opinions regarding the value of prickly 

 pear as a fodder are very conflicting ; 

 but it appears tc be generally regarded 

 in the United States as best suited for 

 use with richer material, such as bran 

 cotton-seed meal. 



Various methods for rendering the 

 spines innocuous are employed in the 

 several cactus regions. The most com- 

 mon practice consists in singeing the 

 spines over a bush fire, or in a less 

 primitive manner by the use of a gaso- 

 line blast flame, such as is used by 

 plumbers. A more efficient method, and 

 one said to be used in Australia, is 

 boiling or, preferably, steaming the 

 prickly pear for several hours, thereby 

 rendering the spiues harmless. Chop- 

 ping machines are also employed in 

 Texas, the object in this case beiner to 

 cut the prickly pear into such small 

 pieces that the spines are made inno- 

 cuous by abrasion. In New South Wales 

 it is considered that the most practic- 

 able method is the conversion of the 

 material into ensilage, since after a few 

 months the spines become quite soft, 

 and the ensilage is said to be both 

 nutritious and palatable. 



Experiments conducted in California 

 have shown that by selection and cross- 

 ing of cactus plants it is possible to pro- 

 duce a spineless variety valuable as a 

 pasture plant and having a feeding value 

 about equal to that of lucerne 



