THE PRICKLY PEAR PEST. 
Tt is necessary here to view the means by which these outlying plants of 
prickly pear reach their various sites, often removed by a considerable distance 
from pear clumps and heavily infested pear country. A study of such isolated 
Opuntia plants will show that they are frequently found under trees, especially 
near their bases, and at the foot of posts along fences. Such situations suggest 
that the seeds have been distributed by birds, and as putting the matter beyond 
doubt, it may be mentioned that not infrequently prickly pear plants may be 
actually scen growing from receptacles on the trunks or branches of trees. This 
question of bird dispersal is one which has hitherto received insufficient atten- 
Photo., Dept. Agriculture, Brisbane. 
O. monacantha, from Gympie. 
tion. We do not know yet for certain all the species of birds that feed upon 
prickly pear fruits, nor do we know which amongst them are capable of passing 
the seeds intact through their alimentary canals. .We know that the black 
magpie, Strepera graculina, feeds upon prickly pear, because birds have been 
shot with the fruit in their stomachs and the yents much stained by the purple 
juice. It is necessary to know for certain whether the seeds can germinate 
when passed in the excrement of this species. Hven supposing the seeds are, 
under these circumstances, capable of growing, the bird must not be condemned 
offhand, for it may be that it possesses other good qualities which more than 
C.2001.—3 17 
