50 
THE PLANT WORLD. 
everywhere. In many places there were yellow streaks of sul¬ 
phur and the odor of hydrogen sulphide was very apparent. The 
sides of this active crater had no vegetation at all. 
On the following day, after an attempt to sleep in the cold 
and smoky hut with everything dripping with water, we climbed 
the Pangerango. Here the sun came out bright and fresh. 
I found specimens of a shrubby Hypericum and the tall and 
handsome Primula imperialis. The latter is restricted in range 
to this one mountain. From the top of the mountain there was 
a beautiful view of the lowlands with rice fields, palm groves and 
coffee plantations. Just beneath us was a vast stretch of virgin 
forest. Far away at the left were the still waters of the Java 
sea and at the right the hazy outlines of distant mountains. 
A week later I took the steamer for Singapore and as our 
good ship bore away northward I looked back with pleasure upon 
this far-away mountain and recalled again the wonders and 
beauties of Java—the garden island of the Asiatic tropics. 
CACTUS AS A FORAGE PLANT. 
By W. J. Spillman, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture . 
Any one who has traveled in the southwest has noticed the 
great abundance of prickly pear and other cacti growing even in 
desert regions. Recent investigations indicate that these plants 
have in them economic possibilities of no small importance. 
They are greatly relished by all kinds of stock, particularly by 
cattle and sheep; they grow in the most unpromising situations; 
and, most important of all, they retain their succulence and food 
value for many years, being ready for use whenever needed. 
For more than half a century the Mexican freighters of south¬ 
western Texas have fed their oxen on cactus, frequently giving 
no other food. The method employed for getting rid of the 
spines which cover the plant has usually been to hold the stem 
over a flame till the spines are burned off. When thus treated 
the plants are readily eaten, and may form the major part of 
