GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 11 



machete. This, together with such dry grass and browse as the 

 region afforded, was all the feed that the cattle obtained. 



It is quite probable that the Americans learned the use of prickl}' 

 pear from the Spanish people, who appear to have learned its value 

 and practiced feeding it long before it was emplo3 T ed for that purpose 

 in this country. - 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ECONOMIC CACTI IN THE 



UNITED STATES. 



Roughly speaking, we ma} 7 designate the northern boundary of the 

 cactus area in this country as follows: From the Texas-Louisiana 

 line westward on the thirty-third degree of north latitude to the 

 Texas-New Mexico border; thence, northward to the thirty-ninth 

 degree of north latitude; thence, westward along this parallel. In 

 describing the boundary in this manner it is to be understood that only 

 a very small fraction of the area of the United States south of this line 

 has pear or other cacti in sufficient quantity to be of economic impor- 

 tance in a state of nature. Indeed, the areas of economic cactus in this 

 country are very circumscribed, although they are scattered over a 

 considerable territory. 



Outside of this area there are only one or two situations where the 

 cacti are at all prominent, and they never grow large enough to be of 

 an} T particular value. The same is true of much of the territoiy 

 included in the general region designated above, but some of this ter- 

 ritory is covered with growths of various species of these spiny plants 

 that render it difficult for cattle to travel through them, and such 

 growths are scattered here and there over the entire region. 



The cactus region par excellence, and the only region where any 

 great amount of feeding has been done in this country, ma} r be 

 described as that portion of Texas situated south of the thirtieth par- 

 allel of north latitude. In this region the species of prickly pear are 

 sufficiently abundant and the grasses so scarce during portions of the 

 year that the stock industry becomes almost dependent upon the pear 

 for its existence. It is estimated by many ranchers that one-half less 

 stock would have to be handled by them were it not for prickly pear. 



In the general cactus region outside of southern Texas, cactus from 

 an economic point of view occurs in limited areas only. Arizona, 

 New Mexico, and southern California, while often spoken of as great 

 cactus regions, have only comparatively small areas where anj T of the 

 species grow in sufficient abundance to render them of any commercial 

 importance in a condition of nature. These States have many botani- 

 cal species of great interest, but in many cases the number of indi- 

 viduals is small, or, if numerous, they are too diminutive to be 

 economical \y prepared for stock feeding. 



But even so, there are many areas scattered all over these regions 



