26 
THE SPINELESS CACTUS : 
1 he most prevalent practice in southeastern 
Colorado, according to Dr. Griffiths, consists in 
singeing the spines over a brush fire. 
i his operation is practicable where there is 
considerable brush or wood conveniently situated, 
but it has many disadvantages. The plants are 
collected and hauled to some convenient place 
where the fire is built. A brisk fire will remove 
the spines from one side of the joints almost in¬ 
stantly. It is then necessary to turn the plants 
over and burn them again on the other side. Some 
careful feeders often leave the plant on the fire 
until much of the outside has turned black from the 
heat, in order to insure the removal of the short as 
well as the long spines. Others exercise less care, 
and simply allow the flames to pass over the plant, 
burning off only the distal half or more of the long 
spines and leaving practically all of the short ones 
for the cattle to contend with. It often happens 
that the fuel used is greasewood (Sarcobatus ver- 
miculatus) or shad scale (Atriplex caenescens), 
the young shoots of which are of greater nutritive 
value than the pear itself. On the arroyos and 
washes dead cottonwood timber is used, while in 
many localities juniper furnishes the fuel. 
This is the most primitive method of feeding and 
one which has been practiced in Texas since before 
the Civil War, and is still extensively employed 
not only in lexas, but also in old Mexico, where 
singeing the thorns with brush is about the only 
method employed in feeding prickly pear and other 
species of cacti. 
The use of the gasoline torch for singeing cacti, it 
is stated, originated in Texas, and is commonly 
practiced on the range. It is economical from the 
standpoint of the labor involved, as well as from 
the quality of the feed. 
The process consists in passing a hot-blast flame 
over the surface of the plant, which can be very 
quickly done at small expense. The spines them¬ 
selves are dry and inflammable. In many species 
one-half or two-thirds of them will burn off by 
touching a match to them at the lower part of the 
trunk. The ease with which they are removed 
depends upon the condition of the atmosphere, the 
age of the joints, and the number of the spines. 
A large number of spines is often an advantage 
when singeing is to be practiced, because the spines 
burn better when they are abundant. The in¬ 
strument used lor this purpose is a modified plumb¬ 
er’s torch. Any other convenient torch which 
gives a good flame can be employed, the efficiency 
depending upon the lightness of the machine and 
the ease with which the innermost parts of the 
cactus plants can be reached by the flame. 
Cattle brought up in (prickly) pear pastures do 
not have to be taught to eat pear. They take to 
the feed very naturally. After a day or two of 
feeding the sound of the pear burners or the sight 
of smoke when pear is burned with brush, brings 
the whole herd to the spot immediately, and they 
follow the operator closely all day long, grazing 
the pear to the ground—old woody stems and all— 
if the supply that the operator can furnish is short. 
Pear, when burned, scours cattle much worse 
than when it is simply scorched enough to take the 
thorns off. * * * Burning with a pear burner 
tends to kill out the pear if close pasturing is prac¬ 
ticed afterward. 
CACTUS-FED BEEF. 
[From The Butchers’ and Stock-Growers’ Journal.] 
In our issue for March 31st last, under the above 
caption, appeared an article showing that cacti 
in general and the prickly pear in particular had 
been used as a food for stock, and that cactus “fed 
beef” had already been marketed. Further that that 
wizard of the vegetable and floral kingdoms, Luther 
Burbank, had succeeded in developing a cactus 
without spines and free from acid juice, and more 
nutritious than the prickly pear. 
We have received a very interesting letter from 
L. Von Tempsky, manager of the ITaleakala Ranch 
Company, Malcawao, Maui, T. IT., confirming all 
such statements and giving valuable particulars 
regarding the use of the prickly pear as cattle and 
hog food. As will be seen, he states that there is 
a wild spineless cactus in Maui, which is news to 
us. While it may not possess all the virtues of the 
Burbank variety, it is certainly worthy of inves¬ 
tigation and propagation. When the right kind 
of cactus has been obtained there will not be an 
acre of arid land in California and Arizona which 
will not be open to cactus cultivation and sustain 
its share of cattle. This matter is of growing im¬ 
portance, and the letter which is given below, will 
be read with much interest. 
Haleakala Ranch, 
Makawao, Maui, T. IT., April 17, 1905. 
Editor Butchers’ and Stock-Growers’ Journal: 
I read with much interest in your issue of the 
30th ultimo the article on “Cactus Fed Beef.” 
On this ranch we have one paddock of twelve 
hundred acres covered very thickly with cactus or 
prickly pear; there is also a slight growth of Ber¬ 
muda grass growing. In this paddock are pastured 
all the year round, four hundred head of cattle, and 
about seven hundred hogs. The cattle only get 
water when it rains, that is, during the months of 
December anti January; the other ten months they 
subsist entirely and solely on the fruit and young 
leaves of the cactus which they help themselves 
to. It is a remarkable fact that during the dry 
months of the year, we get more fat cattle per cent 
from that paddock than from any of the others. 
I consider cattle fed on cactus like these are, to 
have as fine flavored beef as any 1 have tasted in 
San Francisco or New Zealand. 
The hogs, with the exception of a light daily 
ration of com, fed to keep them tame, live exclu¬ 
sively on the young leaves and fruit, which are 
fed to them by herders, and thrive wonderfully. 
This cactus has a brick red flower, and a most beau¬ 
tiful claret colored fruit which the ITawaiians 
ferment, and distil into a very powerful spirit 
known as “Okolehoa.” 
The first stomach of cattle eating this fruit is 
unedible owing to the myriads of small spines 
which adhere to the walls. I have never known an 
animal to die from the effects of this. 
We have also here the spineless cactus, which 
is identical with the before mentioned except for 
the lack of thorns. Where it came from 1 don’t 
know. 
L. VON TEMPSKY, 
Manager ITaleakala Ranch Co. 
