Historic, Archive Document

Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.

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PREFACE

TWENTIETH CENTURY FARMING BETTER FORAGE, BETTER FRUIT

For hundreds, probably thousands of years, the great, rapid growing, desert. thorny | cactus (Opuntias and others) have furnished food for stock and fruit for man, especially in Southern Europe, Northern Africa and Mexico, where | the fruit, though ‘rather ‘seedy. and difficult or almost dangerous see handle, is Veuy, highly prized, more SO perhaps than any other fruit except the orange and banana, :

-The whole plant furntshes nutritious: food in- abundances, yet Brest. pain ane often death | was the penalty for using them. eet phe ee eee

Fifteen years ago the first. scientific experiments for their improvement were instituted on my farms and the interest in these new products. has” been. “so far. reaching. ‘that. the offi cial representatives of almost. every’ government on earth have shown: their: profound appre- ciation for the work, either by correspondence, personal investigation c or. purchase of some of

1 2

the new varieties first offered four years ago. : So - It has now been fully demonstrated that these new Burbank Opuntias (cactus) thrive even better in the fertile valleys than on the desert. wastes, producing. “most - “astounding. ‘crops not only of forage for. stock and poultry put: most nourishing . and. most” ‘delicious, large and strikingly beautiful fruits of many forms, colors and qualities, Sixty fo see “Hundred - Tons per aere of it on good soil. pes tae Some of the new ‘Burbank fruiting varieties have yielded and will. yield more trait per. acre even the third. and fourth» year from rooted cuttings ‘than the. best. apple orchards will in ten years; and at one- -tenth the expense; And better ‘yet; the crop of fruit is as certain. as the return of the seasons, increasing. in quantity. each season with no cultivation and: no

are whatever EaECDE to pick and | market when ripe or nearly ripe like other fruits.

LUT THER BURBANK, ‘Santa Rusa, Cal Mays OLE

HISTORIC

EARLY EXPERIMENTS

For more than fifty years I have been quite familiar with “thornless cactus” of many :

species and varieties. In fact, one of the first pets which I had in earliest childheod was a thornless cactus, one of the beautiful EHpiphyllums. The Phyllocactus and many of the Cere-

-us family are also thornless, not a trace to be found on any part of the plants or fruit. Thus the somewhat indefinite popular name. of “spineless cactus’ has been used by: persons unac-

-quainted with these. facts, for be it. known that - ‘thornless cactus” is no more of a novelty than: a. ‘thornless’ watermelon. But among the Cacti. which grow to an immense size with

great. rapidity and which can ‘be readily cultivated in garden, field or desert. no perfectly

‘thornless: ones were known and~ very little interest taken in the cacti of any kind either —

thorny or thornless as to their agricultural or horticultural yalue until some sixteen years ago. when the work of improvement was taken up on my experiment farms and improved per-

» feetly smooth, rapid-growing varieties had been. produced and made known. Some of the

best growers. among these will produce five to ten times. as much weight of focd as will the — wild thorny ones. (which some ignorant or unprincipled dealers have recommended for cultivt-

tion) under exactly the game conditions. ~ These wonderful results were not unexpected as

the genus Opuntia is a surprisingly variable one evel: in the wild state. The best botanist

—even those who have made the Opuntias a special study—declare it to be one of the most difficult genera to classify, as new forms are constantly appearing and the older ones so gradually and imperceptibly merge together. The facts without doubt are that their an- -.cestors had leaves like other vegetation and were as thornless as ap apple tree, but in ages past were stranded in a region which was gradually turning to a desert, perhaps, by the slow evaporation of some great inland lake or sea. Being thus stranded the plants which could adapt themselves to the heat and drought which as the years passed by became each sea- son more and more severe, survived, at first by. dropping the leaves thus .preventing. too much evaporation, leaving the fat smooth stems only to. perform the funetions of leaves. The Opuntias even to this day always shoot cut very numerous rudimentary leaves which persist a few days-or weeks and then having no function te perform drop off. These rudimentary

leaves which always appear for a time on the young slabs are often mistaken for big thorns

by those who are not familiar with the growth and habits of the plant. But the Opuntias had yet to meet another enemy; desert animals were. hungry | for their rich stores of nutriment

and water, so the rudimentary: leaves were replaced by. the awful needle-like thorns placed at.

exactly the right angles for the best defense, and, at the base of these—partially embedded —

in the stems—(now leaves) are numerous bundles of smaller needles, more than: ten thousand |

to each leaf and these are even more dangerous than the larger needles, often pr roducing: great SE

pain, inflammation and at last death, to animals whe were pressed by. starvation to consume them for food.

Some fifteen years ago, while testing the availability of a great ume of proposed. fords:

-plants from the various arid regions of the world with a view to the improvement of the. most

promising, | was greatly.impressed with the apparent possibilities. in this line among the Qpuntias which from their well known vigor and rapidity of growth, easy multiplication and universal adaptability to condition of drought, ficod, heat, cold, rich or arid soil. plaee them as a class far ahead of all other members. of the great cactus family, both as forage plants: and

for their most. attractive, wholesome. and delicious fruits, which are produced abundantly and

without fail each season, These fruits which are borne on the different sitecles. and varie~ ane aie

ties, vary in size from that of a small peanut to the size of a very large banana and in colors of crimson, scarlet, orange, yellow and white and also shaded tin various colors like apples, pears, peaches and plums, and with more various attractive flavors than are found in most other fruits except perhaps the apple and the pear, the product of a single plant being often from 50 to 200 pounds per annum, some bearing one crop, others two or more each season like the figs, the first or main crop PIpening as the second comes into. bloom on the same plants.

The Opuntias, from rank to tip, are practically all food and drink and are eer pelichid by all herbivorous animals from a canary bird to an elephant and for this very reason have had to be on the defensive and perhaps nowhere in. the whole vegetable. kingdom have such elaborate preparations been made; the punishment inflicted is immediate, the pain severe and lasting, often ending in death, so that all liwng things have learned to avoid the Opun- tias as rast do rattlesnakes, and notwithstanding. their most delicious and nourishing fruit produced unfailingly in greatest abundance have never. before been systematically improved by the Agriculturist and Horticulturist as their merits so well deserve:

By the collectors and others, for the earliest. experiments - in this work the best Opuntias from all sections of Mexico, from Central and South America, from North and South: Africa, Australia, Japan, Hawaiian and the South Sea islands, were. secured. The United . States Agricultural Department at Washington, through my friend, Mr. David- G. Fairchild, also secured eight kinds of partially thornless ones for me. from. Sicily, Italy, France and North . Africa, besidesa small collection of Mexican. wild thorny : ones- which- were in the govern- ment greenhouses. at the time. Besides these ‘I -had the. hardy wild species from- Maine; Towa, Missouri, Colorado, California, Arizona, New. Mexico, Dakota, Texas and other states. ‘All these were grown and their. agricultural and horticultural values studied and. compared with great care.- Many so-called thornless or- partly thornless: ones: were obtained, but. not

one among the thousands received from all these sources was. free from - thorns. and

spicules and even worse, those which were. the most promising in these respects often bore the poorest frait, were the most. unproductive OF fruit or produced less fodder or were less- hardy than the wild thorny species and varieties. The first work was to select the best of these, cross them, raise numerous seedlings, select the best of these and so continue hoping for improvement. One of the first and not unexpected facts of. importance to. be observed, was that by crossing, the thorns were often imereased rather than _ diminished, but not so with all. Some very few still became even more. thornless than their so-ealled _ thornless parents greatly increased size and quality of leaves (raquettes oer siabs) and anrong them — a combination. of the best qualities of both parents with surprising productiveness of slabs for feeding. ~The work is still in progress - but on a still larger scale and now. these improved - Opuntias promise to be one of the: most important food-producers. of this age, some of these new creations grown from the same lot of seed yielding ees Ie ten. times as. mueh feed. as otherg under exactly the same conditions. —

Old half thornless ones have been grown ae ages. Among: the very numerous “ae aed ling Opuntias, partially thornless ones have appeared. ‘from time. to time and these have been growing generally unnoticed here and there ‘in every part> of the earth where the thorny ones grew, the seeds no doubt scattered . “py birds and other agencies. Some of these bore fairly good but seedy fruits and have been locally cultivated for ages, but have never re-. ceived snecific horticultural. names. or descriptions though the fruits of these and the thorny ones: have long been used -extensively as food and are the principal source of food for mil- lions of human beings in Southern Europe, North Africa, Mexico and other lands, for about

three months in each year. : Systematic work for their improvement has. saws how pliable and readay moulded is this. unique, hardy denizen of rocky, drought-cursed, wind- -swept, sun- -blistered districts and - how readily at, adapts itself to more fertile so: Ss and how rapidly it HER TAVES under eulti- vation and improved conditions. _

Some one asks: “Won't they. run wild again “and produce thorns, when placed under desert conditions?” _ a Has the “Burbank” plum which ihoush. mtroduced twenty-two years ago and is now more -widely grown than any other plum on this earth, shown a tendency to be different in Africa, ~ Borneo, Japan, Egypt, Madagascar or France? No; it is the same everywhere and the resi- dents of Chicago, Auckland, London, “San Francisco, New York and Valparaiso consume them -in great (and rapidly increasing) numbers of carloads each season. The same may be said-

of the later introduced Wickson, America and numerous other plums and of my improved fruits and flowers which are extensively grown and generally offered for sale by most re- sponsible firms in all civilized countries and are eon slowly but very surely replacing the old and heretofore standard varieties.

It will be so with these “new creations” in Opuntia which 1 now offer. Tens of . thousands of others not now ready to be distributed are under test, this circular partially describing only the beginnings of a great work with the Bria which in importance may be classed with the discovery of a new continent. | fa

Does this work which has been only just briefly outlinea mean’ anything? Intelligent people everywhere know well that it means a new. agricultural era for whole continents — like Australia and Africa and millions of otherwise useless acres in North and South America, . Europe and Asia. And now during the past three years the United States Department of Agriculture have despatched agents to all parts. where cacti grow to look up this matter — among those who had for years been feeding the wild, thorny ones to their stock with good results when properly prepared. by fire, though it is. acknowledged that thus prepared a portion of their nutritive value is lost and though the dangers of loss from feeding to stock are lessened, are not by any means made safe, even by- singeing or any other process, while many of these new thornless ones are as safe to handle and as safe to feed as beets; potatoes, carrots or pumpkins. ; ) :

. - But Tet ‘it be understool that these. ‘sen are not growing on the wild Opuniias for ornament any more than. poison fangs, teeth, claws and stings are possessed by various animals. ‘They are for defense, and when deprived of these defenses they must be pro- tected. from stock like any other feed grown in farm, fields or gardens. Still some doubter who. has no. knowledge of desert cond: tions or of these new plants will say, “Will it pay?” Does anything pay? Some people seem to think that corn, wheat, oats, barley, cotton, rice, tobacco, melons and potatoes pay. How many tons of hay, beets. or potatoes. can be raised each season on an acre of good soil? Yes, well, by actual weight in the summer of 1906 in the cool coast climate of Sonoma County, Cal., on a heavy, black “adobe”. soil, gener- ally thought wholly unsuited for cactus, my new Opuntias “produced the first year, six” months from single rooted leaves, planted about June 1st, an average of 47% pounds per — plant on one-fourth acre, yielding at the distance planted 2%x5 feet) at the rate of

180.236 pounds (over ninety tons) of forage per acre. Some of the best varieties produced By §

very much above this average. Though planted much too closely for permanent field eul-— ture yet these notes are of interest on a subject of which little has been known: - These , Opuntias are always expected to and do produce: nearly or quite double as much feed the third and succeeding years as they do the second season of planting. Yet, I would not ex- pect one-fourth the above yield on desert soil without. irrigation but would “expect nearly or quite twice as much as the yield mentioned above in a sip warm climate by one. or two light irrigations each season.

These improved Opuntias must of course be fericéa, from stock when young put after

two or three years’ growth stock may safely be turned loose among them-as with age the ~

main stem becomes woody ‘and will not be injured, ‘but-on removal of stock will at once make a most rapid new growth. The leaves are to be fed to stock when most needed, and in countries where great numbers of valuable ‘stock are lost in times of unusual drought, will be of inestimable value and will also prove of enormous value in less arid countries - as a common farm or orchard crov even on the best agricultural soils but more especially — on barren, rocky, hill and mountain sides and eae ds river beds which are now of no use eee whatever. | | oe a rsa The small, hard, wild thorny cactus: has been a common odie food. for horses, 9 camels, mules, oxen, growing and beef stock, dairy cows, pigs, and poultry ‘for more than ,

fifty years, though millions have died from the thorns,* yet, no systematic work for their Big

improvement had been taken up until some fifteen years ago: now agriculturists and horti- culturists in every land are deeply interested and the governments of all countries are tak- ing measures to secure a stock of the improved Burbank Opuntias to avoid if possible the ~

too common occurrence of famines, for the Opuntias can remain uncultivated and undis- ics en turbed year after year, constantly increasing in size and weight until needed; then each — aa acre will preserve the lives of a hundred animals or even human beings for months until Pep -o

other food can be obtained.

ee: The wild cactus is prepared by Boifine or Steaming in ae oe in times of drought, but even ecawnd that loss of stock is sometimes reported when thus prepared, some are saved from otherwise certain starvation. mak to

Samples of Various pees on ee the Work |

“Mr. Burbank’s first publication: on. econo. (TO BEGIN (PLANTING THE ‘THORNLESS mic. cacti serves to set at rest many grotund- CACTUS. less suppositions as to the character of the work he -has had under way for years on . David Griffiths Assigned by the Government

these plants. Some persons forgetting’ that: te Locate Burbank’s Plant. ain Arid Mr. Burbank has made up tb now no Official i

oe , @ eo. ‘Sections for Experimental announcement of his work jumped ‘tow the: siete ah rts sme ee aa conclusion that he had merely hit upon*one | Lk Easiencaaie oe; of the common nearly spineless forms OE ees ct? ; : ‘ > Opuntia Ficus Indica. Others more dishonest = “The. work of “locating” Euther Burbank’s | have been offering for sale so-called “Bur- © - thornless cactus and ‘establishing the plant bank’s Thornless Cactus” despite the: fact _ in ‘the State as a forage for stock will be. that neta single plant or seed of: Mr. Bur- © undertaken by the: United Beales angcionte _bank’s new ¢reations has left his eteunee al. Department. aces up toa few weeks REI sear SS : a ean “The smooth “cactus ‘vavinie < no: howe is a

> Mr. Burbank: was perfectly. well aware ae very. nutritious fodder plant and: is greedily the incéption of his work -on the opuntias” eaten by stock» It was developed from the “that there were. many forms nearly thornless. - ordinary, thorny cactus -by Luther. Burbank.. - and-~he has. even ‘brought’ to. light ene kind, ~The’ Agricultural. ‘Department, at Washington. which he calls the “Marin,” grown in many recognizing the: great’ benefit - te ‘pe deriv: ed.

countries ‘that has” neither. spines. nor. spicu-- from -this desert. plant. when. ‘available. as -&

les. ‘The Marin is not of much - value,. how- . -ferage plant, is making a determined effort “Sev er, ‘as it. is a rather. small plant and is “not © : to. introduce: it’ inte the. desert regions of the hardy. The new. forms are- much. more. rapid . 2 Western. ‘States. “San. Francisco : “Examin- 5

srowers. and are. also ‘more: hardy.” a9 eae S Sere ee Ie MO aE CS RD TiN EEF SS ai “ ==Dr. “Walter. T. Swingle, U. B,. Dept. of, 2 Piet Boga deep Nene ACh eae = SAStugh log Seep ae S

Aprteuttare,, poeeime ton, Dd. M52 a -s)) ..“Burbank’'s: thornless -cattus . is: certainly ; See a -- preving itself. to be. the. modern vegetable — i “ST Leiner. ‘Burbank: has peek ‘granted the = “marvel. - Nothing» like -it. has | ever. “been™ pro- a. knowledge. . “supreme. beyond other men, “of > _ duced etere< Its: vitality surpasses, the lim- =? Sth ¢ ‘susceptibility _ of. plants. to vary. under it of belief; for nothing in the vegetable ‘the influence of: new. environments, delicate” —world- has ev er shown such wonderful resist-

Wis os ‘manipulation, and intelligent direction.’ Te ee _capacity, such reproductive powers, such. a ges * sf Someniahe: American.” a exuberance of growth,” = "Standard," Bureka, = eee ae: ant. risk at Fn ye, ; : “The man who. alwavs does qnage says the. aE: Seti ion Pees é SS least.. Your good works will bless” humanity * ae S- ‘BURBANK’S SPINELESS CACTUS | long after you have said “Good Night. Be Your Ns eer eee work is always ‘a’ source of ‘inspiration ics Sige Spee Se By Prof. H. A: Adrian”

me, -and.I am. continuously" hig er tie “What

. a h ; h tP Santee “Th eye is So- iach ote misunderstanding ‘on. wi e eRe ED is nex reset

he part of the~ general. public. ‘concerning -Burbank’s ‘spineless cactus and “so many ae Dept. of Agrieuilure, ‘Washington, D Ser foolish: and misleading statements going’ the ay ee ria Ae pee cc Peneds that’ were born of “ignorance and en- While’ I shane: line ben impressed swith. “-vy, that it seems worth while to give a little | -your work, Tam now: overwhelmed ‘with the ~of the history of this famous plant and make vast amount. of - good which. you: have been clear. the claims it has for a place among the

able to accomplish: 7s respect. ‘your. work — greatest food-producers knewn to man:

above ‘all that. hae: ever been: done. for. horti- -. “That there should be much of envy and any CULE NREL 2 x amount of misstatement of him and his work —Prof. “Wm... cS “Alwood, Virginia, College is to be expected. It has always béen so and ~ and ‘Experiment Stations 272 arp Ns Pe perhaps. always be the-lot of those who ee ee ka Oh. Sor ie Sealy f a Sn ce do the world’s. great. things. ‘Meantime he “Burbank eae never ‘made any Fide: pre-_. toils placidly — ‘on in his -wonderful gardens

tense as” ‘to the ‘spineless’ cactus, cand it ‘must secure in the ‘knowledge on the world-wide hurt his feelings. to bax SOS: blundering” and agé-long - good he is. doing in the high _ peneil- -pusher » hurtle. his. : - “discoveries’™ - Bt - place that_even~conservative scientists have the © world. de —"News Letter,” San Francisco,, accorded him among the ‘great ones for all

Cal =: BA Dna ee PO thse al Cs tee alee _ time.’ —"Press' (Santa “Barbara, Calif.

“There are several good reasons why Mr. Burbank and his work may be reported er- roneously in the public prints. Chief of these is, naturally, him or the matters that pertain to his work.

There is the subtle mystery of his peculiar intellectual faculties, the intricate processes :

he has evolved for the work of earrying on plant | creation, and finally those creations themselves, which truly are such marvels: of newness, beauty ‘and worth that extravagant praise of them and -eulogies of their origin- ator are not surprising.

“Mr. Burbank . has, for twenty-five years

“past, kept notes and records of his work. in.

the greatest profusion and with © perfect exactness. These invaluable records have not yet been published, but the fact of their

existence is a guarantee to the. public that

it: may yet hope to read and study the his- tory

his own pen.’ "Out West...

“He is: one whid, like ieaison “in the sphere of human industry, stands near the apex of mundane possibilities. One day this -week . he" ‘stood : ‘before an “AS semblage - of _learned, practical * ‘men, s were’ ~having under” consideration, ‘the. reela- “mation of the arid wastes in the Great West and told that he” had discovered. how- to pro-

‘duce and “eultivate a thornless | cactus which would yield -tons per acre -of- nutritious’ food - for both man and beast, without. ‘irrigation, |

$8 Be TRL E- rigationists, he was the. chief - - BERR; Tdol of-the Hom tp SSE

“Such men as Bicank Edison: ad ‘Agazis

have cage fas to be a Bees blessing - to man- kind.” — Bat an td gine ig eae

“Tt. must -bé—ani igiiense eaisteAed to you to see your creations ‘so. thoroughly vindicated-after such ‘malignant attacks, but

no doubt you are accustomed to that,. even. ‘the thoroughly oe and- villainous articles _

of the n—- Ne Y— rs Ba EG WwW. a

CACTUS ERA UINBVITARLE eee

“The paetas: era ‘is: just ‘opening. “Ten. or twenty years hence many well- informed men

believe, the eactus will have supplanted - and - displaced alfalfa throughout a great area of.- the;

the civilized world... Why? Because - cactus will grow -with little or no irrigation, upon. any kind of. soil, with infinitely.

duce’ far greater results in yield of fodder. “The romance and. marvel of. the. bank Cactus would fill a large book. story of the sixteen years of. patient effort employed by that. wonder-worker, Luther Burbank, justly calls for a pie ae Mera: ture. : $7 “Imagine, if you please, the cacti of the world, selecting from all of these varieties the best, lions of seedlings, them selecting. “and -reselecting _and, finally, -after. sixteen years triumphantly “evolving: -

millions the difficulty of understanding

“This,

working accomplishments,

of. the- sory of Luther Burbank from

; for their ostriches, cas it

~He isto be’ ‘believed. ae - Cactus -as good. and not ; ERE: as ‘cost-:

who

less. attention than alfalfa must have and will pro-

Bur-. The |

a man poltanpine:

_ causes joy - Rowe, -as the freight charges are _considerable.’ eta

oa, * bn

then growing Ymit=- crossing “and _ recrossing.

from this patient, laborious process and from of discarded cacti, seyen ‘plants which were not only free from spines but

which possessed the growing and feeding

values for which he had so long Striven.

in a nutshell, is what Luther Burbank

did with the cactus. Sometimes out of 100,-— 000. seedlings, he destroyed 99,999, ‘The re-

maining individual he watched and tended

as carefully as a mother her nursing. babe,

Patience, infinite: patience, had to be added. to the Burbank ‘genius eee truly Spineless Cactus. %

“Of. those anxious ones STAY, hayé endeay-

ored to detract. from the merit of. this, the.

greatest of the Burbank triumphs, we «will - say nothing. The Burbank Thornless Cactus. = >

speaks for itself.. It will, by its wonder=. best answer. all. critics, _ Whether malicious. or eT Se Wx... si

“The largest osthigh-: ace in the. world | (situated in. Arizona), having over 3000. birds, are preparing to put out 100 aeres is an ideal food.

They: ‘now feed alfalfa exclusively, but find

ly. oe]

- sumpo Xx EATS ‘THORNLESS cacres:

y Elephaat- “Refuses. ‘Ordinary Food and Bure bank Product - Has ‘to Be Shipped nore

seh From Arizona

is pak B S Ce P SP htt : na Ls Me tig? In that great convention - of ‘ips. sal

“Because one of the ‘elephants with the ers in Arizona, the show: managers. are now compelled to ship the ‘Burbank ‘product to.

~The ‘show is to be in Seattle |

for three days, ‘eommencing next “Monday,

press.

er “Thorniess_ cactus. is as our managers Shak

the proverbial red_ rag is to the pull, gate a ca He 233 ithaiatriok, the circus press _ : last - wizard - announced to. the world his

night. “When the California — plant—

creation, the managers of the- show

a few experiémnts. © They have. ‘a- big camel

and elephant . raneh in Arizona, and an “acre of the ~eactus was planted. small ‘quantities were fed tothe animals as 2 grew on that. one - — acre we had ‘the food problem= for the. ani> oe “mals vat “the winter quarters solved. At first’ the. elephants did not. like it, = but- later 3 noth-" oe

from the quantity which

ing else would ‘satisfy- them. or

Norris. & Rowe shows took. -e ‘liking: to the = et thornless cactus when at the “winter- quart— re

every. point — along” the ‘line of. travel. at a tet heavy” expense.

and several. bales are expected: rere: Dy exe Re

ageni, _

tatest. - began =e Ss

When ~ ready, oi

“After. the show got on the ais one: af:

the elephants — spurned — the hay, oats” and.

- peanuts which. constitute: the. usual food, and t:

seemed to. be. pining for his daily eaetus.— Finally have: it- shipped to each town in bales,. ‘and. when Jumbo _XXIIL spies. that bale_ trumpets and takes. on in- a: manner- which- among the spectators.

however, do not appreciate the: joke,

“Post- Intelligencer,” ‘Seattle. pike

- 2 . ae

Norris. & Rowe were. compelled to ‘

he” fe ‘

~ Norris aes

“er

HOW TO PLANT ;

The Opuntias differ from deal all. atiter fnaee as the cut ngs ‘should be wilted some before they will root and grow rapidly after which nothing grows. so readily. When received place them in some warm shady place. and allow them to” remain a few days or a week after which they will readily form roots and start to stow anywhere, even on a board, a pile of rocks. or the roof of a house if you choose. When wilted, the usual way is to plant so that ese: one-third or one-half of the cutting is below the soil, they may be planted in an up-

ight position or at any angle from the perpendicular, or even THEO flat on the ground, : peek no Hpere ace “to — Sones

eS Lae "DISTANCES. FOR PLANTING

2 ree fairly. good Si in general field ruses: for stock feed, these New. sieee -growing

‘kinds ‘should. be planted about three or. four feet apart in the rows and the rows should be .

about ten: feet. apart. Tn orchard planting for the large - twelve feet. would. be more convenient. 2: The selection of: ordinary Opuntia. cuttings is of some. importance. “Those who have grown them on ‘the: ‘shores. of. the ‘Mediterranean for hundreds of years always select. wood” ‘if fruit is: the object, and. the Teast. thorny: and bristly leaves if/a plantation is to be. produced: for: forage; even some. of. the partially ‘spiny: -ones may be made less so by - careful, selection of cuttings but: Aus) labor. ‘Is : hell useless . ‘since: ‘the new Burbank varieties: ae offered. ES gh Tekh pee Seer fie . When Alfalfa was: “generally - Shad dues about twenty years. ‘ago, “many wiseacres -de- Clare® it was. no feed for mileh-cows.- whe says” ‘it is uot good: for them now? g

growing, aeons: varieties. four by

“THE SPINELESS | cactus: “SPINELESS. cactus |

“ Bpere ‘are “two essential features of the | bs SEuther : tustanies eaaineises cactus. “has “subject which are but little. “understood by “been. introduced in Yuma, and the results of |

; “bearing Sh

: candid. ‘To the average American man the “cactus | iS Beh 2 has! always. been, even ‘in its wild state; a_ valu- “Mexico >

the average American farmer or: gardener, Ke

-on:both of- which Mr.-Burbank: has. been Very. Boe ee

in his - ‘public writings. a painful and useless thing. That

abte- article: LOf commerce in: Texas » and some- foreign countries. "as ‘a: -food ‘for

humans and Tive Stok: -and- poultry: will Pe

mene (Herald. 2

ete

surprising ; bo, Mexico. é

a is” universally recobnized:. Liieaploc:

the cactus. region of. Texas “that the plant © has—a decided ‘tendency to increase ‘the flow of milk. There are hundreds of ox teams in Texas: that work all ‘the year on ration. con-. _ sisting. very” Targely of cactus all the time, and” practically. “The: condition of the stock which ens received — the \ cactus during» the. ‘winter - ap-- pears. to be “very: much better, than. that of those wintered - on good. ary pastures. ‘Feed-- ‘ers without exception make this. observation. : “Cattle. and working oxen “will eat a large: - ration of~ (wild) cactus” properly | ‘prepared (burning: oft. thorns): when’ there’ is an -abund-» > anee:- ‘of. the - best” green’. grass” for eat.’ 2

gS “Te is: demonstrated ‘beyond the cauNG Set Be doubt that cattle will eat. cactus in pre- — gee to. calfalfa.’— = Rte ae Let ve Poe

nothing” else for months. .

“Beacon,” ie -Fortuna, Calif.

- tesa

re ai" 925 = Sa

i; thrived - prodigiously. = from. three to four feet high, ‘and. each plant. 2 has: ‘put out. trom twelve to” twenty” ; “These leaves have: grown until they are from” ‘two to three feet long, a foot or-more wide, and two-to three inches thick."—“Times,” Los Angeles Calif. ;

: “state, ie thornless” cactus: ‘growing Side. by side with >the’ best. varieties. of the. government’ s thorn~ .

= of irrigation.

baie Beach, . RE

24s: propogation by- Yocal agricultural experis They have <

‘menters : are highly. satisfactory- ‘ The plants are. now.

2 “The “growing ‘of the spineless cactus is no) * daca a dream. The wonder of the desert, as brought out by “Wizard Burbank” in his experimental - farms | ‘in California, has. been ; tested in several parts of. Arizona ‘and has

been ‘found to..do- well.” Iup, New. Mexico.

“Enterprise ” Gal-

“

some “MORE. ABour SPINELESS cacrus

= “On one. ‘of: eur ‘experimental farms, in this “we have. some. y of. Mr. Burbank’s

less cactus, distributed. last spring.

government ‘eactus, | is

about fifteen to. ‘one: ‘At our Bagie- Rock

nursery, near this city, we ‘have. obtained: a. _ reproduction of 400,000: from. 25,000 since Jan-.

uary of this: year, and ‘that. without: ene drop = PRPErON ION | Shiver City. -Né

leaves. Sem

“The rate. ‘of ‘increase -On the part of fie eb oR _ poorest. of. the Burbank cactus | as: compared

A he the best of the ‘them Sher

LNAWIadxa FA FHL JO ANO dO YANYOD ANO JO MGIA

SGAHS DNIADVd GNV ASNOH DNILVOOdOUd _ JOOHOS ANVEUNG WH.LNT

pr $0 iz

ae ON

Only Nine Years Required to Wake Up the “Experts it!

The existence of the United States Department of Agriculture has been rightly supposed to be, among other things, for the purpose of fostering and encouraging improved methods of culture and of improved forms of plant life which promises to be of benefit to Agriculture. That the cause of agriculture and horticulture would receive a great and lasting benefit by the prompt dismissal of some of the low browed, narrow gauge, ‘pin headed” employees who have to keep shouting to hold their places and who are largely re- _sponsible for the trash, free seed, and the. trash, so -called “spineless” cactus distribution is too well known to need further comment.

After my own. experiments in the improvement of the Opuntias had been in progress nine years (1905) astounding variations and numerous improvements were rapidly appear- ing, such as absolute spimelessness (never before known), greatly increased size and nutrient qualities of the pads er. slabs for feeding, enlarged fruits of exquisite forms and colors, de- lightful aromas and flavors, wonderfully increased abundance of fruit and forage pro- duction per acre, and gradual but sure approach to one of the greatest desideratums of all, seedlessiiess. (This has since been fully accomplished here): About this time some of the Government “experts” became ludicrously earnest in their interest in my experiments and soon : after secured a large appropriation for the purpose of a study of the Opuntias; agents were hurriedly sent in all directions to discover if possible some wild or cultivated. Opuntia of agricultural value which was absolutely spineless. All known regions of the earth were literally scoured in this vain effort.. No eh plant way aound; ‘Tor mame cetated ‘outgide of my own grounds at Santa Rosa. 7 Bee

The employes of the Department of Agriculture are, with very few exceptions, upright and honorable gentlemen with whom | am. on the most friendly terms. Some- times, however, one of the “other kind” gets a job. ‘One of the “other kind”. of government

“experts,” a certain David Griffiths, after visiting my grounds on several occasions, awoke at last with a shock and took occasion to publish under the cover of the Department a bullet:n (see Bulletin 140) on the “Spineless Prickly Pear. ye its whole end and aim and toe evident purpose. being only to deride and belittle the long and very expensive experiments - which” had been made here before he or the Department had awakened from. their drowsy indif- - ference to the great value of this long neglected gift of nature only awaiting man 'S. develop- ment of its latent possibilities as a forage and fruit producer, and. now. promising to- be of | as great or even greater value to the human race than the discovery of the practical appli- ‘cation of steam, ‘producing as several of these new ones do, more food with less eare and less water and on poorer soil than any other plant which grows on this: earth, excelling even the banana in their never failing bountiful crops. of es. :

“In the first. place .the spineless cactus. was not. discovered by. “Burbank,” said one of the officials: of the. Bureau of Plant In-— dustry. . ‘It was discovered by mother anh long before Burbank was ever heard of.. saw it growing in Mexico. many years ago.

“In the second place the . ‘spineless variety

GOVERNMENT eeenaaee

AND MR. _ BURBANK .

“Tt has reached such a stage that every time Burbank announces a new “discovery” ‘the scientists employed by Uncle Sam shout. “nature faker,” and prove conclusively, to ©

their own satisfaction, that what the Cali- . fornian has brought forth is not only not-

new, but that it is worthless from every

point of view and is unworthy ef space in

any garden plot in the world, _ “Burbank’s “spineless : which. he has” lately sold. to a syndicate and

which is now being heralded as the future 2: god food of the arid lands, is. the latest item — “thrown down" by. tae. hero! a

tO be

ae “experts.”

cactus,” some of

. is not as good for the use of the farmers of ““the arid lands as: the kind. that is provided

with natural arms for SS BS AIAN its. ene- mies.’ veaaNimesen: dD. ae “Post.”

“EXPERT” CRIBBING METHODS

“There lies before usa copy ae an Agri-

cultural - ‘Department Bulletin: ‘treating of the. “Spineless - ‘Cactus; “pression of seeing a> stage presentation. of

‘which ‘gives: one the im-

Hamlet, with nary a melancholy Dane. It graciously says that there are ‘a number of hursery men who have now on hand‘a stock of some varieties of prickly pears and are offering the plants for sale, usually under

the name of Spineless Cactus,” but we fail-to -

see any reference to Burbank, who has done more than all the other agencies combined to perfect the plant and bring it to public notice. This cribbing of ideas and experi- ments without due credit, don’t look good to us. Caesar seems to have ill luck in get- ting his denarius in the Department; and as for the Infinite and Eternal Energy, why, bless your soul, Washington. they take the everything else in the Rural Californian.

denarius and shop.”—HEditoriati

FOLLOWING, NOT LEADING

“It is announced that the Department of Agriculture is preparing to experiment (7?) with spineless cactus on. the Government Plant Introduction Garden at Chico, Cal. This is like ‘bringing coals. to Newcastle.’ Within a distance of one hundred miles from Chico the problem of spineless cactus has been solved, and the utility of the pro-

duct demonstrated, by Luther Burbank. Just.

why the Department of Agriculture ignores ‘the great work of this world’s most famous plant scientist is beyond comprehension. It would at least appear that the envious sal- aried experimenters. at Washington woula have sense enough to keep miles and states distant from the great successful plant

transformer and propagator in the pursuit of

its attempts to do what he has already -done.”"—Orchard - and . Farm, . San Pee apelseds

or Cal.

= Soy Bulletin: 140, the United ‘Staten Depart- ment. of Agriculture has placed .

plant industries’ of the age. * * * Those - who are privileged to know Mr. Burbank are forcibly impressed. with © the modesty of ‘the man whose creations have had. so great a bearing on the agricultural and hor- _.ticultural world,’—‘“Irrigation Age,’ Chicago.

SPINELESS PRICKLY PEARS

“Bulletin No: 110, just issued by the Bureau of Plant Industry’ of the United States. is upon the subject of the ‘Spineless prickly pear. ‘The bulletin was prepared by

David Griffiths, — assistant agriculturist. . Hither eSNG Ee or through ~ ignorance of well known facts, this ‘bulletin. ignores Luther Burbank’s: work in removing spines from the cacti family, and makes much pre-

tense that the bureau itself has been suc- -

cessfully working along lines of discovery. As a point-blank snub to the greatest of all human producers of new plant © life, Griffiths says: ‘The . origin of prickly pears is shrouded in as much obscur- ity.as that of the cultivated wheat, barley,

apples or any other crop long cultivated by —

,

man,’ Parenthetically.it may here be stated

that long after the names of

it is out of the running. In

itself on record as, antagonistic -to-one of the. greatest

‘science caviling by men of such caliber is not likely ‘Oak-

‘spineless

‘tractors. to suggest that he needs defense 2 ae Dr. Griffiths :

and the bureau itself are obscured by time, the name and fame of Luther Burbank will be revered as a benefactor of the human race.

“The entire bulletin shows a labored effort to detract from the great developing magic with which Mr. Burbank has added hun- dreds of new forms of plant life to the pro- ducts of human cultivation. Just why the Bureau of Plant Industry of the United States should lend itself to the derogation of any public benefactor is difficult to un- derstand, unless jealousy prompts the course of official personages vested with brief ana vaunting authority. It

small business, to say the least.’’—‘Orchard and Farm.”’ GOVERNMENT EXPERTS AND MR.

BURBANK,

“A dispatch from Washington, D. C. says that some of the men of the United States Department of Agriculture have been speak- ing disparagingly of some of Luther Bur- bank’s creations. This is not the first time. this has been done by them. Some. writers in commenting on the matter have ‘said that jealousy on the. part: of the department. men has prompted ‘their adverse criticism, They have gone further and have stated that. aL

some of the United States experiment sta-_

tions experiments have proved unsuccessful

- which Burbank ats made the greatest kind |

of a success.

“The last attack. dacordine to the’ word from Washington, is centered upon. thornless cactus and its adaptability to the arid desert lands.’’—‘“Courier,” Calif.

“There appears to be a consistent attempt on the part of some petty officials at Wash-

ington’ to discredit the discoveries: and the. work of Luther Burbank, The claim of Mr.

in the world sof”

recogn: ized

Burbank to distinction is so thoroughly

to detract from his fame.”

—"Enquirer,” land, Cal. B24 Mime

“Clerks of the Department of ieee in Washington have called Luther Burbank

a nature faker. It is hardly probable that Mr. Burbank will stop his valuable labors long enough to call them anything.’— FLO uStet, Texas.

“Independent investigators aes win) ‘hide.

victories in the face of opposition on “the part of the government

Washington, D. C.

‘BURBANK ASSAILED BY LOT. oF

LILLIPUTIAN “EXPERTS” ‘

“The Star has no brief for the ‘defense of Luther Burbank against his_ “expert” . It would be a libel on Mr. ‘Burbank —

crowd of Lilliputs.

the

that

“Post,” :

scientists.” —Ww. E.,

de-— act

is an exhibition of -

i <3 a. ;

Sees Se

—

etm i AD

besides,

“The United States Department of Agricul. ture has done.a monumental work in experi- menting, discovering and disseminating val- uable information on plant and animal life. It has been fortunate in acquiring the ser- vices of a few men of eminent talents who do things. It has at the same time been un- fortunate in annexing alot of impractical, narrow-minded laboratory “experts” sume to Know more’ about. Nature ana natural processes. than Nature has ever taught or will ever teach. In fact, they go so far ahead of Nature or lag so far behind they are unnatural. Their chief employ- ment consists in Keeping up around of mechanical “duties” in laboratories or hot- houses, as far removed from Nature as pos- sible; and in clubbing every man who dares by his achievements, to dispute the limelight with their claims. :

“For instance the Federal “experts,” some of whom would hardly know eactus from Canada thistles, if they were to see the two growing in the open, unlabeled, are assailing Luther Burbank’s_ spineless cactus achievement. It is not original, they say. They Knew all about its existence be- fore Luther Burbank was ever heard of. And, it does not amount to anything. Cactus without spines is liable to be eaten up by jackrabbits, whereas the ordinary cac-

who as-

horticultural.

Mother Nature and sulling the public with a let of “discoveries” that these “experts” have known all about since the pre-Adamite period. ‘

“Meanwhile as this. shattering of -Burbank preparatory to his annihilation is. going on, the public will not be stampeded away from him. The practical, levelzheaded masses of the American people are old-fashioned enough to -believe in a man who sticks so close to Nature that he can help her to im- prove on herself and bring forth new and far better products. If the “experts” at Washington, after they get through weigh- ing the heels of the thrip, and reckoning the stomach capacity of the tobacco worm, suc- ceed in wiping Burbank off the face of the earth by their invincible text-book logie and hot-house “facts,” still the ignorantly blind public will be vulgar enough to regard the Burbank annihilation as only another sham- battle achievement, in which the -annihila- tion of armies in theory is alwavs shown to be sadly defective when it comes to annihil- ating in real fact a real flesh and blood army.

“Burbank Keeps cheerfully on at his» work, sleeping well and accomplishing more _ for the real advancement of horticulture in a week than the censorious “experts” at Wash- Their critical

ington accomplish in a vear.

tus can be made into fodder by burning off buzzing no more concerns him than _ the its spines. Luther Burbank is just. a cheap buzzing of mosquitos disconcerts ~- an “nature faker,” wasting . his. time - with elephant.”—Pasadena, Cal. “Star.”

Tt has been proved (see page 7) that the poorest of the Burbank spineless cactus will re

_ produce fifteen to one as compared to the best “expert” Government cactus. Is it then sur-

- prising: that practically all the nations of the earth are anxious to obtain the new ‘Burbank Be very careful, however, that you get the Burbank cactus, not the half spineless ones so very often sold as the “Burbank” or “just as good as. the ‘Bar bank,” ‘such as the builders of the pyramids of Egypt may ae cultivated, which” some of. :

eaetus as soon as possible?

the ' “pin-headed experts” at Washington are exploiting.

~ Many of these so-called “Spineless” Cactus plants are steadily and persistently y bens

‘puhibet off on the public as. “Burbank’s” or “Ss ust as good as Burbank’s.

‘These old so-called spineless varieties were well known hundreds of years ago, “and have “Twelve tons of this ancient trash is being sent out this season, through ignorance or worse, “py the We have now ‘on hand some “sixty ‘tons of: these % same kinds (used in past years for experiments) which we offer at $3.50 per ton, but do not recommend them except to save starving cattle in times of extreme drought; ‘life. ‘is too short : also. for unfortunate growers of this prehistoric type to pe constantly under ‘the surgeon's knife for the removal of spines, they are dangerous to. handle except with shovels, pitch:

been growing in California, Mexico, Southern Europe and North ‘Africa ; for- ages.

United States Department of Agriculture.

zi forks or very thick leather gloves.

~The following quotations are from a late magazine article in vindication of has old, wild, > The thorns can be, at much trouble and expense, “partially burned $3 for ‘dry or

thorny varieties of cactus. — off by fire thus making a somewhat dangerous but otherwise good fodder, seepeeially | seasons.

esp acct . i

“Every old -timer : in Texas: fas -distinet @ of; thousands of cattle and. that over. a “lange: ‘recollections: ‘of the years. of famine when area of: territory” today” twice as. many cat-" ; eattle- were ‘kept alive on “prickly” pear. Tae © Yee tle are raised as - would be possible were it” x - knows” that “it is sure good feed, ‘that. on not for: prickly péar. growing spontaneously. Sexerar occasions: it pas” ‘been the. ‘salvation Bat in. spite of the fact that it has been

proven to be a_ profitable thing to utilize and the pear of Southern Texas is no excep- when growing wild, the idea of planting and tion to the general rule. While it might cultivating it, or actually growing it inten- take it five or six years to grow § large tionally, is yet a rather novel one.” enough to pay to harvest in the native pas- tures, it makes. a big crop in two years when cultivated. By actual test it grows eight times as fast with good cultivation as it

“The plants will nearly ~meet (when does. without culivation in grassy pastures.” planted eight feet apart) in two season’s growth, when it will be impossible to get animals and machinery through them in cul- tivating The forage, however, need not be gathered unless needed for several years longer, but simply allowed to grow until the time when it is wanted. It will be fully as good feed, and, according to some, better five years later.”

“The plant has a bad reputation. It looks anything but promising as ‘a stock food.”

“Tt produces tremendous tonnage; it re- quires no irrigation; it is an excellent dairy roughage, good roughage for any cattle, and ean be used for hogs, chickens, sheep and goats. It can be fed in a green succulent condition all the year. It has no serious in- sect or fungous enemies. One planting is good for repeated cuttings. It does not de- teriorate with age but can be fed when five

“The response of this plant to cultivation or six years old to even better advantage is phenomenal, We know of no parallel in than when young. It is a certain erop un- the history of cultivated crops. The cacti in der conditions which cause other crops to general are considered plants of slow growth ‘be a failure.”

ECONOMIC VALUES OF THESE NEW BURBANK OPUNTIAS

First:.. The leaves or slabs as food for all kinds of stock including poultry. The whole plant, both Jeaves and fruit, almost without exception finds immediate favor with all herb- iverous animals. Cattle prefer it to almost any other food and it makes a superior quality. of beef and exceedingly rich milk, which is not surprising as cactus is one of the very richest foods known in sodium, potash and magnesia, the principal salts found in milk. These valu- able organic salts are found in the cactus more abundantly than in any other fodder. A And there is the further consideration that the cactus supplies the animal almost all the water it needs. In Hawaii and Mexico cattle have been known to subsist for six months on a cactus. diet without. a drop of water. The often observed fact that animals when fed on : cactus. improved in condition more than could be accounted for by the usual chemical an-

-alyses for food values had been a- matter of much study by. chemists until it was. discov- ered by. actual experiment that these organic mineral salts oe in the digestion of. food * which would not otherwise have been utilized. ai, Ss es

- Second: The .fresh . fruit of these improved varieties is. ‘unique in form and anaes ex- ceedingly handsome, unusually wholesome, (the large amount of vegetable salts they con- | tain being regarded as very beneficial) and far superior to the banana in flavor. It is usa- allv sold at the same price per box as oranges and can be produced at less than one-tenth the

expense of producing oranges, apricots, grapes, plums or peaches. There is never a failure —

in the crop which can be shipped as safely as the other deciduous fruits. The fruit can be gathered and stored” like apples. and will keep in excellent condition from four to five months.

Samples packed in ordinary packing boxes without ice,. were shipped to CEBEO, ew York, fe =

Boston and Washington this past season and kept in perfect condition. nig 2 es ‘Third: Most. delicious jams, jellies, syrups, etc., are made from the fruits alone or in combination: with other fruits, besides various foods and confections, such as Tuna honey > ; (Miel de. Tuna), Tuna butter. (Melcocha) and Tuna cheese (Queso). e Opuntias. have been used (even the thorny ones) for making SS ae by the Mex- icans and others for a long time. Some of the finest candies of Mexico are Se ai cactus: of various forms. Bae ee ‘Fourth: The fat young. leaves are sometimes used for pickles, and are a fairly good and- wholesome food when fried like. eg g-plant.. They are also boiled and used as greens and". are prepared with sugar producing ae puetmiber similar to losmctgcionies 3 citron. which andy Pe flavored with ginger or other spices. ,

er : - ‘ - “ : <> eats

Fifth: The abundant mucilaginous juice from the leaves is extracted for mixing with whitewash to make it lasting when exposed to the weatuer. For the purpose of obtaining this mucilage the leaves are simply cut in thin slices or crushed and placed in water. A leaf or two will make a gallon of good, thick, transparent mucilage of superior tenacity. When this substance dries slowly, it produces a gum which is hard, brittle, generally white or of a pearly color, and not readily dissolved tin water. It should also make a valuable ad- dition for giving more tenacity to some of the compounds used in spraying trees and plants for parasites.

Sixth: The leaves are extensively used and most. admirably adapted for namics: and as a substitute for hot water bags (the new Burbank absolutely spineless kinds of course preferred).

Seventh: The juice from the fruits of the crimson varieties is used for coloring ices, jelly and confectionery; no more beautiful colors can be imagined.

Highth: The fruits and leaves are sometimes served in various other forms for food . by those who are familiar with them.

Ninth: The cactus also gives great promise as a producer of alcohol and paper pulp. and in Australia is now said to be a thorough success in these respects. It is planted at Alexandria, Egypt, to prevent the drifting of sand.

Tenth: Even if the cactus yielded no product of direct utility, yet it would, on account of its great growth and rapidity of increase, perform a very distinct function in preventing the rain from carrying away superficial layers of soil from barren slopes which the rain waters would surely carry to the sea where would be wasted uselessly this most precious portion of the earth’s crust, the portion most rich in elements of fertility. Moreover the cactus facilitates the penetration of the earth by waters which reappear below in the form of springs. It is impossible to repeat too often that, in such countries as Tunis and Al- giers, where frequently torrential rains are separated by long seasons of drouth, too great effort cannot be made to retain in the ground as much as possible of this water which or- dinarily trickles away without benefit to agriculture over the numerous barren slopes. It is not necessary to wait until it forms into rivulets before trying to catch it. It is much sooner than this, when the water has as yet formed merely liquid threads which the tiniest obstacle can divert, that the effort should be made to make it penetrate the soil.. The cactus planted on cleared strips, worked out according to the contour of the surface, may be advantasenusty employed to this end.

In Europe, where cactus has been set out by hand labor, the cost is estimated to be. about $10. 00 per hectare, (equal to about two American acres). It would not be more than that per acre in this country and it is the opinion of Mr. Chas. J. Welch, a man with some ex-_ perience in these matters, that in a country where traction engines could . be used - and: large tracts set out, the cost would not exceed $5.00 per acre. The initial cost_of land: re any case need not be more than $50.00 per acre and a great. deal of land suitable. for the c purpose could be secured at a very much cheaper figure. so

After the first year no cultivation is required. In all $60. 00 would an cover all i penses, except the cost of cactus plants, until the pad year when ane. plantation mores be in full bearing.

“On ordinary - land at Santa Rosa the Burbank cactus te Ee close to 100 tons to the ~ acre. On land under cultivation near Los Banos, California, it produces fully twice as much and there is- some land there that will grow cactus that should produce much more. Cactus as forage alone should be worth $4.00 per ton at any time, and in years of drought it might well bring as high as $20.00 per ton. In other words, on land at $50. 00 per acre cactus should produce a crop worth nearly or quite $400.00 per acre on-the third and every succeeding year, thereby ranking it among the very best agriultural. propositions before the American farmer today. Because of these possibilities single slabs of the true Burbank > variety are now selling for $5.00 each (more or less according to the variety).”

Cactus plants donot necessarily require rich land. The land need not be either fk or agricultural land. Such land as is commonly purchased in the valleys of California at- $50.00. per acre should be very satisfactory and even land at $5.00: per acre is feasible. Cactus will probably stand as much white alkali as any plant which grows. ess ;

Fruit land could not be secured and fruit trees set out and cared for. until pearing for less ‘than four times as much ($60. 00); the initial cost for. the first year is commonly. es- timated at $203.0 00: “per acre; and it would be necessary to. cultivate. it for five-or six years

before any return could be expected. In this connection it would be well to remember that from twelve to twenty years of bearing is the average length of life of most fruit orchards, whereas the cactus plant will thrive indefinitely. It might also be well to note that whereas a fruit orchard suffers great deteioration if it is not cultivated, pruned and har- vested every year, a cactus plantation can grow on for any number of years without the slightest care or even harvesting, and suffer no injury, so that in years of depression, if there should be no satisfactory price for cactus produce or products, a man need not spend one cent on his plantation.

“About eight or ten inches of rainfall is required for the best cactus culture, although cactus will do very well on six inches. It is not necessary that the rainfall should be reg- ular, but the precipitation of rain once in four, or even as infrequent as once in ten years is sufficient.”

Alfalfa and all other fodders produce thread-like stems while the cactus plant yields Leg, luscious slabs weighing from one to seven pounds each, which can be cut at any time, summer or winter whenever needed.

Cactus can be grown close in along the coast of the United States from the Puget Sound country south to San Diego, in the great valleys of California, in a comsiderable part of South- ern Arizona, southern New Mexico, Southern Texas, Southern Louisiana and all along the Gulf and Atlantic Coast of the United States well up to South Carolina for about one hun- dred miles inland, more or less, according to elevation and other factors. In a general way, this is the part of the United States best adapted for cactus culture.

“The Burbank Spineless Cactus will prove especially valuable in feeding dairy ‘eetite as it will furnish a succulent feed throughout the entire year, so that an even flow of milk can be obtained. When fed with a little cotton-seed meal or other concentrated food er used with about fifteen pounds of good alfalfa hay, it will prove the ideal feed by which dairymen may obtain the same quantity and quality of milk in January as in June. Even now, the — best butter is being made from dairy herds fed on singed wild cactus with only three or: four pounds of cotton-seed meal per day or its equivalent; while some of the best beef eattle have been fattened on the same rations and sheep, hogs and calves are being DEE pared for the market on an exclusive cactus diet.”

As eattle always follow feed there should be an ever present market for cactus forage wherever it is grown. Besides, as the different varieties of cactus mature fruit from Septem- “ber to March, they enjoy a season of exceptional shipping advantages.

“It is-said that wood alcohol can be produced in great quantities by the distillation of both the cactus slabs and fruit and the productive capacity of the fruits is in some cases — over 196,000 lbs. to the acre. But besides all this, paper stock can be made from the refuse. which some experts from the great manufacturing establishments pronounce the very finest ~ quality for certain expensive papers. This fibre is almost absent in the leaves when ther are young and in the best condition for feeding stock, but as the plant grows older the woods” fibre increases towards the base which becomes practically solid material. Every ‘part from the tip of the- plant to the tip of the longest root is available for this purpose. The fibrous , _ paper stock comes out very clean and white with little trouble in preparation. dis eee a promising product of this remarkabte fibre.”

“Luther Burbank, the greatest originator Of new and valuable forms of plant life of this or any other age.’’—Dr. David Starr- Jordan, President Leland Stanford, Jr. Uni- versity:

‘Mr Burbank is a man who does things — that. are of much benefit to mankind and we

Theodore Roosevelt.

“TI look to great practical résudas from.

‘Celluloid

should do all in our power. to nee him.” — -

“It is ahi honor to Galitortita that Luther Burbank is its citizen. He is ail that he has ever beeh said to be and more.’—Dr, L. H. Bailey, Cornell University, N. ¥

“Te stands easily at the head of the world’s 8 greatest eX¥perimentalists in plant life.’ "= W, Atlee Burpee, Philadelphia, Pa

Burbank’s work Amp RE ae = Ones A. Edison

“No other man has given to torsioutnae so many valuable things as. has Luther Bur- |

bank.”’—Prof. E. J. Wickson, Dean of. Agri- ak

culture, University of California.

PART TWO

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE NEW BURBANK OPUNTIAS

THE KINDS TO CULTIVATE FOR FRUIT and as Food for FARM ANIMALS and POULTRY

BURBANK’S | SPINELESS CACTUS

3 One Hundred ~ Ninety Six Thousand Pounds of. Delicious Fruit Per ‘Aes 3 on. this Field

The’ best of. ee improved ee. Gini when srown andes ftayorable conditions:

on good soil in a warm climate may confidently be expected to pr oduce an. aver ase. of nearly 7 or quite one hundred tons of feed per acre when once established, each season. ‘

I have no time and- no. desire to introduce these or any other Opuntias, ‘and would gladly leave the matter to some one else but so much has been written about them and so many are deceived with the old. cheap, half-wild varieties which are so often offered as ‘“Burbank’s’’ or

“just as good as Burbank’s.” that it seems necessary to have them distributed direct from

my own grounds and under my own descriptions so as to avoid as much as possible any misunderstandings, exagerations or misstatements such as heretofore have been carelessly, ignorantly or wilfully made. Utterly spurious “Burbank’s Thornless Cactus” has been offered for sale by dishonest parties for five years or more, not only in America, but also in Europe, Africa and Australia.

In producing these new Opuntias more than fifteen years and much thought, labor and capital have been expended, thousands of crosses have been made and many hundred thousand seedlings and crossbred seedlings raised. The finished product is receiving a royal welcome everywhere by those who know.

Few of the cacti are of any economic value except the Opuntias; of these there are more than one hundred and fifty species and innumerable varieties; all probably originally natives of the Western Hemisphere and were cultivated by the Indians long before Columbus discovered America. No class of plants are more easily grown, soil is not of much sg ih ance and cultivation almost or quite unnecessary.

For the old fruiting Opuntias or Prickly Pears, eighteen thousand pounds of fruit per acre is found to be a common cron on the poorest soils, while on good soils the best Burbank fruiting varieties will and have produced more than one hundred and fifty thousand pounds of delicious fruit per acre. The fruits differ in various ways like apples, plums or peaches. By analysis they are found to contain from six to fourteen per cent sugar besides a small amount of protein and fat, also aromas and flavors. Some contain more of these, some less; all desirable qualities are greatly increased by scientific breeding and selection for this pur- pose, as with the applé, peach, sugar beet and other fruits, grains and vegetables. —

Some of the earlier varieties ripen in June and July, the later ones in August, September, October and November and through the winter; Most of them commence bearing about the third year from cuttings.

_ The general practice to prepare the fruit for use is by brushing with a whisk broom or_ : rubbing with a coarse cloth, then cutting a thin slice from each end through the skin, then ~ slitting from efd to end when the skin may be readily removed, leaving the solid flesh. ready for. use.

SAMPLE FRUITS

FOR EXTENSIVE PLANTATIONS

The leaves of these new Giant cactus varieties should be shrunken slightly or wilted at least, (except in absolutely dry deserts or in very warm summer weather). Meantime an earlier and more rapid growth will be secured by plowing and harrowing the land as for any other crop. The cuttings may then be easily and rapidly planted one-third their length under ground, either with spade or plow, in deserts slanting towards the position of the two o’clock P. M. sun; or they may simply be thrown on the ground and left to themselves; in either case they will grow, but in the end it is probably better to plant as above. Three to eight feet apart is the best distance for permanent plantations, either for fruit or forage, but they may be planted at half these distances and later, three-fourths of the plants removed.

People who are not acquainted with the cactus often mistake the numerous pointed leaf- lets on the undeveloped slabs for spines. These, having no function to perform soon drop off. They are as different from spines as blossoms are from leaves.

— ROBUSTA (Forage and Fruit for Feed)

&

A new crossbred cactus which originated 6n my own grounds six years ago. The cut : conveys only the slightest idea of its heavy, smooth, compact growth. -The slabs are packed~ together so closely as to resemble a solid bale of leaves. Not a leaf has ever shown: a<trace o. injury from. sunburn, disease, or damage by frost, even when the mereury went down to fourteen degrees above zero. Sak ;

The thick, heavy, pale green slabs or leaves of Robusta are smooth, medium size, two to _ five pounds each. Fruit medium size, abundantly produced, slightly bristly, thick pulpy skin,

good, but best suited for stock and poultry feeding. Productive of feed beyond hitman im- agination, except by the aid of actual, ocular demonstration. The most productive, compact eraowing and most valuable cactus for feed so far produced,

ELDORADO (Fruit)

The old half-spineless “White Fruit” with several similar - half-spineless- (so-called: “spimeless’”’) varieties introduced by John Rock of San Jose some forty years ago and ‘quite. generally distributed throughout California and Florida, was one of the best of these old, “s0- celled ‘spineless’ varieties. Eldorado originated here on my grounds from this old well- 2 known stock; the new variety is almost, but not absolutely free from spines, yet far ahead of. those ancient varieties in this respect, a very strong grower, hardy and extremely produe- tive; but best of all it produces unusually large, very thin skinned fruit of the very best quality. The skin, which peels most readily from the fruit is olive green, beautifully shaded i with lemon yellow and rose pink. The flesh is of the palest semi-transparent straw yellow color, firm and with a rich melon-like flavor and almost seedless. The fruit, which is of an_

unusually pleasing form and even size, keeps well, both when left on the plant or picked for: . use of shipping. Nothing better so far known for general home use, market or shipping.

The cut quite accurately shows the form and size of the fruit which usually weighs from seven ounces to half a pound each. eke ;

SPECIAL (Forage)

Special is of the Tapuna section with round, silvery leaves or slabs, a true “Spineless” cactus, not like the ancient “expert” so-called “spineless” ones. No gloves are required to handle this kind. The slabs of this variety also are about as smooth as watermelons. The long, broad; heavy rows of plants have never shown the trace of a spine, hundreds of people have fondled them, rubbing the leaves over hands and face without any discomfort what- ever. The silver green slabs average from three to five pounds each. Special also has never shown a trace of leaf injury from any cause. The fruits (rarely produced) are nearly glob- ular in form, very slightly bristly, and only fitted for the use of domestic animals.

The plants grow in handsome round topped style in the form of small haystactks and side by side produce far more than ten times as much feed as the ordinaary wild kinds. A eactus plantation of these new “Burbank” types produces a surprising growth in ami- mals and a production of rich, creamy milk, far beyond the comprehension of those yet ignorant of their value.

TITANIA (Forage)

One of the most remarkable of all known hybrid spineless opuntias. Leaves or siabs, light grass green often three to nearly four feet long, eighteen inches. wide and one and one-half to three inches thick. These giant leaves first appear as little knobs and in a few weeks attain this enormous size a single leaf being abundant feed for asheepfora day or two. Nothing like Titania has ever been produced before.

BANANA (Fruit)

Same origin as Eldorado; great grower; remarkably resistant to adverse conditions of all kinds. Early and abundant bearer of very large handsome lemon yellow fruit with c_imson blush, flesh banana color, firm, sweet, unusually good, seeds not abundant; not ab- - solutely spineless but far superior to the best es of the parent type. One of the most

profitable-of all for fruit. ;

ROYAL (Both Fruit and Forage)

?

The old well known so-called “spineless” Anacantna has probably given the best satis- faction of any of these ancient, well known kinds: it has, no doubt, been grown for ages in all eactus countries. Years ago during my early experiments it was received with others from almost every quarter of the globe. The fruit while of the sweetest, was very sparingly pro- - duced and late in the season. Royal is the best hybrid seedling of those which can at this time be offered from a lot of more than one hundred thousand. Royal has large, broad, thick, dark green leaves or slabs much larger and broader than its parent, and far less spiny, in fact would be a wonder in_ this re- spect if absolutely spineless ones had not lately been produced. The fruit of the Royal is very handsome in form, compact, with exceedingly smooth, thin, pale yellow skin, mostly covered wtth a crimson blush. Flesh yellow, very few tomato- like seeds, sweet and of most superior quality. The thin skin is easily removed and unlike most others of this class, is not subject to cracking. Royal is the best of this class in exist- ence at the present time, and superior both for fruit and fodder.

VERTEX (Forage)

Another new cactus hybrid which has a great future, one selected from among millions of hybrids. A tree-like stout, upright grower, with bluish green, thick, heavy, oval leaves, one and a half to two feet long and seven to ten inches wide; smooth, wholly free from spines or spicules and uninjured by frost, insects, rain, sun, wind, drought or poor soil.

ARBITER (Forage)

Remarkable for its vigor of growth and the size and smoothness of its slabs. Sheet iron gloves are not required to hamdle its great smooth flat leaves or slabs. One of the very best for fodder and will greatly please those who have been obliged to handle the common kinds heretofore ponernlly known as “Spineless. Cactus.” Bi

COMPETENT (Forage)

A second generation, smooth hybrid seedling, absolutely free from either spines or spicules. The leaves which are generally two to three feet long by six to eight inches wide and often three inches thick are curiously warted and corrugated when young and as smooth as an apple when grown. It has been most amusing during the past three years to observe investigators take out their high power magnifiers in the always vain search for something in some way resembling a spine. No smooth cactus on my farms has been more admired or desired than this one.

SIGNAL (Forze)

Another most remarkable cactus from my crossbred seedlings. Leaves long, thick and when young with deep corrugations or knobs, later becoming as smooth as a nectarine and attaining in some cases a length of more than four feet and a weight of ten to twenty pounds each. Impossible yet to estimate the value of this new spineless variety when it becomes known and gemerally grown.

OPALINE (Forage and Fruit)

Opaline produces abundantly large, oval, pale green slabs fifteen to eighteen inches long by five to eight inches wide, averaging in weight about three to five pounds each, no thorns, no bristles. The fruit is of medium size, pale yellow and of fine quality, ripens at the usual time, September, October and November, but remains in good condition here on the plants tnrough the winter until the next year in May. It can be easily handled without any brush- ing; no other good “Tuna” fruit so far known can be.

BUSTER (Forage)

Very similar to “Competent” and “Signal.” Enormous long, warted or corrugated, pale green slabs which are absolutely spineless. No gasoline burners, iron boots or pitchforks are needed to handle Buster.

ACTUAL (Fruit)

A happy cross of the old Standards, “Anacantha” and “ Smith.” Belongs to the upright | growing section and is especially fine. Great producer of large, smooth, thick, light green

slabs and a profusion of almost seedless fruits which are of good medium size, pale yellow, |

flushed crimson. Flesh white, sweet, rich and delicious.

MARKET (Fruit)

For fruit alone, if one is not disturbed with spines, “Market” a seedling of the old well known Smith will greatly please growers. Like the old so-called spineless Smith, the plants are unusually robust growers with large, pale green slabs which are annually loaded down with brilliant, crimson six to seven ounce fruits of a pleasing compact form and very thin easily removed skin; flesh violet crimson, sweet and in every way far in advance of any of this fine class except for the short spines such as the “Department” prehistoric, so-called “spineless” varieties carry. The fruit also hasthe same old seeds but is produced so ireats that it can be recommended as one of the very best of all the half spiny class.

ee _ NIAGARA (Fru

“Seedling of the old “Smith,” a so-called spineless cactus introduced to California some twenty years ago. The plant and fruit are both somewhat bristly, but not nearly as much so as the parent. Niagara never fails to bear at least four to six times as much fruit.as the Smith. The fruit, which is of the brightest crimson color igs smoother and more compact, larger, with a thinner peel and of far superior quality, flesh crimson throughout. Seeds some- what abundant, but its enormous producing ability can and will give it a place even though in other respects resembling the prehistoric so-called “spineless” kinds.

--— QUILLOTA (Fruit)

. oo Cross of Anacantha and white fruit. Largs plants with thick oval, light green leaves. Fruit. large, handsome, yellow with crimson blush; thin skin which is readily removed; firm, pale greenish, almost white flesh; seeds medium to small; flesh sweet, rich, most excellent. Unlike other Opuntias it drops at once like apjles when just ripe, thus saving the trouble of picking. Fruit ripens from September to April.

TWO NEW HARDY NORTHERN SPINELESS CACTUS

3 Two plants which required nine years of scientific selection and manipulation to bring tiem. to their present condition of a spineless, fast-growing, heavy fruiting condition. Both of the pew ones are a combination and selection from the little thorny Opuntia vulgaris of New England which is fairly hardy in Alaska, and O. Rafinesquii, of the western plains, -peth - san” hardy as oak trees. Therefore both these kinds may be most confidently expected “to be. hardy all over the United States, at least. Both literally cover themselves with clear deep. yellow flowers in summer and the next spring are covered and.loaded down with bril-

1s lant: searlet. fruits, one to one and one-half inches long and about three-fourths of an inch

thick, which when. ripe (weeks before strawberries) are very good to eat, far superior to the little thorny fruits of the common kind children are so glad to get in the early spring. The Jeaves are deepest green, four to six inches long, three inches wide and half an inch 3 thick. “These two. kinds, besides bearing. great quantities of good fruit are also (both leaves and fruit): highly relished by poultry and stock, but do not yield one-tenth as- much ‘fodder: as the poorest ‘of the tender giant kinds, yet owing to the constant demand for a ane | cactus, have decided to offer them to those who live in climates where the giant kinds

ELEGANT ©

| as “This: variety bears the largest leaves and fruit. Elegant “forgets. itself” sometimes and produces one or two long spines on about every four ee, leaf; the. other. Joe hun- dred ue ninety- nine are EEyeless ;

-BUOU :

Riou. smaller, otherwise the same, except in “form and’ flavor of its fruit, ‘whieh is fully as ; good as that of PIgeaae peas foi serss

LSet s)

LINNA NMOUD ATVH ATYVAN JO dOUO HLIM SN.LOVO ANVEYUNA MAN FHL AO SAMOV AAMHL JO MAIA TVILYVd

OTHER ODD AND CURIOUS FORMS TO BE GROWN FOR ORNAMENTAL FOLIAGE, FLOWERS OR FRUIT

WOOLY

A curious Opuntia with wooly leaves, height about four feet, almost wholly spineless. prebably not hardy except in mild climates

OPUNTIA BASILARIS

Handsome deep crimson flowers, height twelve to fifteen inches

“QUISCO” (Echinocactus Chilensis)

‘This is the native name of a South American corrugated, handsome, tall, barrel shaped cactus, something like “Visnaga” in appearance, having long handsome, but not vicious spines. Blossoms of various colors, said to bear good fruit.

THE FAVORITE (Echinopsis Mulleri)

Large, beautiful, delicate, rose-pink flowers in profusion even on small plants. The last three easily grown Cactus are as hardy as orange or fig trees

CEREUS PITAJAYA

- Pitajaya, (Cereus variabilis) or sometimes classified as Cereus pernambucensis There are numerous forms of the Pitajaya cactus both in flower and fruit. The variety offered has white flowers nearly eight inches long and like the others blooms in the night; the plants are not quite hardy even in most parts of California The variety here offered bears a most delicious fruit which is greatly prized by all who know it.

COMPARATIVE VALUE OF CACTUS

The following table shows the comparative value of the average cacti, alfalfa hay and gamma, a typical range grass, according to analysis made by the Universitv of Arizona, Agricultural Experiment Station. erat

In water-free substance

Description . Ash Protein Fiber Nitrogen Ether es free . extract

. SS ee extract Cactus without fruit ........ Fe ee Sa ee ws 19.91 6.48 190,22 © )-*) -s64.48 1.83 AA Pall MM SoG oy coe ia a tte ccke ere ey! - 12.74 39.04 41.06 1.49 1.96

Gamma grass ....... Speen eka BSE IE | 6.99 30.31 45.63

WHERE THE CACTUS CAN BE SUCCESSFULLY GROWN

@ Hawaii 6

Colombe

q

INDIAN

| ATLANTI

OCEAN

Melbourne

A , ., sh Punta Arenas Straits of z ¥ > 4 Eee P

Maps of the Globe with cross lines indicating the northern and southern limits for the successful cultivation of the new Giant Burbank Cactus plants for fruit and forage: it will be observed that the whole continents of Africa and Australia, most of South America and the southern part of North America, Southern Europe and Asia and most of the thou-— sands of islands of the seas are included in the territory where they can be grown; even this great territory including more than three--fourths of the inhabitable land of the earth is being somewhat extended by the production of hardier varieties. This work is progressing slowly but very surely. Some slow growing but much hardier varieties are here offered which can be profitably grown for poultry feeding; these can be generally grown from two to five hundred miles farther north and south of the cross lines on the maps, no other Thorn- less Cactus of any name or kind can be until further very extensive experiments have been made. These new hardy thornless kinds also produce small brilliant scarlet fruits, of very good quality when well ripened, far superior to any of those before known, and in the greatest profusion. 3

ee

6

~ - embedded > bundlewise

Samples from Sunny Lands Beyond

the Seas

Professor J. P. Leotsakos says in regard to the Cactus:

“The old somewhat thorny fruiting cactus 4s in my native country one of the principal foods for both opulence and poverty during three months of the year when it is abung- ant. These pear fruits are delicious, exceed- ‘ingly nutritious and _ healthful. I would rather by far have half a dozen of them for breakfast than the best beefsteak or any other food. The fruit of these perfected Cacti is the best fruit food for man _ or beast and Mr. Burbank is a great benefactor in perfecting the Cactus. If he lived in Greece a monument would be erected to him in every city.

TI have never seen in all the

world such an astounding crop of fruit as I saw on Burbank’s new varie- ties of truly spineless cactus at Santa Rosa, California.”’

“Prof. J. P. Leotsakos is a graduate of the Royal Classical College at Athens anda teleiofoitos of the Law Department of the University of Athens, and belongs to one of the best Known families of contemporary Greece. His father was the commander of the revolutionary army that brought about the deposition of King Otho in 1862, after- wards an aide-de-camp to the present King George, and finally Senator from Lakonia in the Greek Parliament at Athens.”

—D. N. Botassi, Consul General of Greece.

FROM INDIA

ie = z

: Siexandria, Egypt, “April. 23rd, 1908. “The Opuntias growing in this country bear very few large thorns but. the small ones, in. the flesh of the leaves are very numerous and eattle as well as camels are. not allowed to feed on these plants. _ We want to have quite thornless plants as a food for cattle and bearing fruits with a large percentage of sugar.

Please be kind enough to send us offer for one or more varieties of plants and the am- ount of money we will have to send to vou for posting a lot of leaves to. Egynt. —

His highness the hhedive is keenly- inter- ested in the question of your Opuntias and will be glad to see’a success of our future experiments.” is

—Charles Chevalier de Blimencron.

Yomiuri, Shimbun, Ginza, Kiobashiku, To- kio, Japan.

“Allow me to present you with the copies of ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ published at our office, by the present mail. —*%-.,4% ~%

I feel it a great honor and pleasure to in- form you that your invaluable achievements in the discovery of the new process of agri- cultural science is highly appreciated by our people in Japan as being one of the most marvelous discoveries of the present century and conferring immense boon upon humanity for the augmentation of the food supply of the whole world.”

—J. Motono, per Shimbun.

Director of the Yomiuri

UNE PLANTE NUISIBLE DEVENUE BIENFAISANTE

“Tout le monde connait Je cactus, aux fibres ligneuses, aux spicules aigus. A la surface du globe, des millions d’hectares de terres arides ne laissent pas croitre autre chose que cette plante fatale aux animaux. Or, apres dix annees de recherches, Bur- bank a transforme le cactus’ si radicale- ment gu’il est presque impossible de le re- connaitre.

D’abord le cactus de Burbank n’a plus depines; ensuite il peut vivre sous tous les climats et en toutes terres; enfin il est co- mestible. Cette plante paria, a lage de trois ans, peut fournir maintenant 600 livres d’une nourriture delicieuse et substantielle, alors qu’auparavant ses epines et ses fibres etaient une assurance de mort pour l’animal qui se risquait a la manger. On voit toutes les consequences “ue peut entrainer une parielle decouverte!

Et non seulement le fruit en est Savoureux, dun parfum nouveau et etrange gui rappel- le en les combinant, ceux d’une demidouzaine de fruits: connus, mais la tige ellememe est bonne a manger. Le cactus meprisable est devenu tout entier un reservoir d’aliments.

—‘Lectures Pour Tous,’ . Paris, France, April, 1909. BURBANK’S THORNLESS CACTUS AT KIAMUKI

“Burbank’s thornless cactus is now being cultivated at Kiamuki, and plants are being taken from there and sent tothe other islands. This new form of cactus is growing well and there are hopes that it will grow rapidly on the other islands, especially in the cattle distriets.

As a food product the cactus appeals. to cattle as one of the most attractive foods found-in the pasture lands. Even the thorny cactus is eaten by them.”

—'‘Commercial Advertiser,” Honolulu, T. H.

Dem Botaniker Burbank ist. es gelungen, eine stachelfreie Cactusart zu ziehen. Damit were ein mittel gewonnen, die odenstenpen des westens, die.-von: irrigation nicht er- reicht werden konnen, zu vultiviren. Fleisch

und saft der .pflanze werden von pferden, mauicselIn. und rindvieh gern. genossen, nur die spissigen stacheln hindern das. Wenn

der in “den wusten einheimische Cactus dureh die meue’ art ‘verdrangt werden kann, wurde mansche strecke nach und nach unter cultur gebracht werden. : ;

International Headquarters Salvation Army Service, London. E. C. ;

“IT am so glad to know that you will so kindly supply us with your latest varieties of absolutely spineless cactus, as I am sure this will be most valuable to India. Next to human beings the cattle in India suffer ter- ribly at the time of famine and scarcity; in fact, during two or three months every year they are reduced to the point of starvation

‘during the extremely hot weather, wandering

about in search of food. Hence I feel sure your eactus would be a great boon to them, for cactus, as you know, grows freely in alt

parts of India, only it is of the thorny kind. |

Wishing you every suecess in your work. believe me, Yours. very sincerely, é F. Booth Tucker.” Consulado General de Mexico, San Francisco, Cal. Hon. Luther Burbank, Santa Rosa Cal. Honored Sir: I beg to offer you my pro- found acknowledgements for your _ Kindest

authorization to have your announcement of +.

the spineless cacti translated into ‘Spanish By - Professor Luis A. Beauregard, Director. Gen-

eral of Public Instruction of Mexico. I have sent to the professor a textual copy of your honored Ietter. I have sir the honor to be Your most obedient servant,

P. Ornelas. —

Camp ech e,

Imperial Russian Consulate, -San Francisco, Cal. Luther Burbank, Esq., Santa Rosa, Cal.

Dear Sir: It is generally — known that scientific societies, both public and private, as well as the world at large, are greatly in- terested in your work of. research, Lately the Imperial Russian Department. or Agri- culture has turned its attention to your cul- tivation of the Thornless Cactus,

I have the honor to be

Your truly, — eo NE : Se S oot

cy oe

THaicakeates Ranch, :

Makawao, ‘Mani, T. H., April 27,1905. |. 3

Editor Butchers’ and Stock Growers’. ‘Journal:

I read with much interest in your issue ARE 5:

the 30th res the: JaEe: on- “Gdetus Beef.’’ 5 On this ranch we Pee one

with eactus or prickly pear; there is also” a

paddock ot 2 twelve hundred acres. covered very ‘thickly ~ ct ae

slight growth of Bermuda grass growing, 3 In 2

this paddock are pastured all the year round,

four hundred head of cattle and about seven ts

hundred hogs. The cattle only get | when it rains, that is, during the ‘months. or”

they subsist entirely and solelv on the fruit |

and young leaves. of the cactus which - they a

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. ‘pads dock than from any of the others. :

I consider cattle fed on cactus like ‘thesé Se

are, to have as fine flavored: beef as- any. = a

have tasted in San Francisco or ‘New: Zealand.

water | Es

“December and January; the other ten months ~ a

es.

-

PR MSA

AN: AUSTRALIAN VIEW on Cactus Where Severe Droughts Have Caused the Death of Many Millions of Sheep and Other Stock

PARTIAL VIEW OF A BED OF YOUNG SEEDLING BURBANK OPUNTIAS oa More than One Million Plants Are Growing in the Seed Beds for Trial

Though the wild cactus is generally prepared for stock by singeing the thorns with Cre, yet this never destroys the numerous bundles cf innumerable needles imbedded in the leaves and cannot always remove all of the larger thorns even. Those who have fed the wild cactus extensively acknowledge that catttle are often seen with blood dripping from their mouths, and that their throats and tongues become at last inflamed, very painful and hard like a piece of sole leather. How would you enjoy being fed on needles, fish-hooks, toothpicks, barbed wire fence, nettles and chestnut burrs? The wild, thorny cactus is and always must be more or less of a pest. Millions of cattle, sheep, goats. hogs. ostriches and other animals have been destroyed by it. The new thornless ones will withstand flood, drought, heat, wind and poor soil better than the wild ones and will produce one hundred tons of good food where the average wild one; will produce ten ton of pure food.

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

These Opuntias differ astonishingly in hardiness. Some strains of the common prickly. pear (Opuntias vulgaris) will grow readily in Alaska and several of the thorny species will endure forty degrees below zero without injury. The best agricultural and horticultural | species and varieties are not quite as hardy as the fig, yet are more so than the orange | lemon, or lime. Old plants are very much hardier than the young, soft. ones. “The Tapuna strain seem to be almost as hardy- as the fig and will’ withstand _ moisture ~ better: than most of the others. : .

OF EASY CULTURE AND RAPID GROWTH” ALWAYS GROWN FROM CUTTINGS, NEVER BY SEEDS

ts

-

Everybody knows that Baldwin apples, Bartlett pears and our fates joaches, OS hit :

and cherries cannot be raised from seeds; just the same laws hold true with the rept gr Opuntias, but fortunately they can be raised from cuttings in any quantity with the utmost ease—more truly they raise themselves, for when broken from the parent plant, the cut- a tings attend to rooting without further attention, whether planted right - ‘end. up, bottom ne. up, sideways or not at all. Best results are generally secured by planting. the lower half

of the ee below the surface of well prewar soil. a ring 6 She aaa

WHERE TO PLANT.

Plant wherever you wish to have them grow, on rich level land: or: Pee: ‘steepest: parent rocky hillsides, old river beds or rock piles, but their growth and succulence are. greatly increased by good soil, some culture and in Very dry soils by one or two light irrigations — each summer. By such treatment the fruit is greatly increased in size and quality, and. the slabs for feeding are doubled in weight and succulence. Nothing: responds mere promptly to fairly good treatment. They will flourish ateet anywhere except where it is” ae wet for anything else to grow. pe eee

WHEN TO PLANT _— (| es :

Unlike other plants Opuntias root best during the heat of summer, and this is ee time also to transplant them. They should not be moved at other seasons. No one “who. oe é familiar with them would undertake to root or transplant them during cold damp. weather | such aS would be best for other trees and plants. During May, June, July, August. and: Sep- ae tember they will thrive under almost any treatment; the leaves, blossoms, buds, half-grown Kis fruits or. any part of the plant will make roots and grow, often even under the Bont: Bes circumstances. eae .

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Significant Words, New Uses, Etc.

THE GENTLE REMINDER BY THE ROADSIDE

No one could be grounds but over six thousand visitors were portant experimental work from daylight to ten stroyed, rare

more

plants died from matters, letters neglected, telegrams health at the point of destruction visitors owh convenience, each one being under she was the one particular one who should sary to place this notice at every gate:

POSITIVELY

pleased to welcome received during the was delayed beyond recall, o'clock at night, no rest even on Sundays or holidays; want of care; attention constantly drawn from legitimate delayed;

the fixed and unalterable be admitted.

the general public to my experiment year 1904. Alf the im- overrun with crowds

‘business de-

grounds

meals taken standing, sleep disturbed. ealling at all hours without regard to my impression that he or It has been found to be. neces-

NO VISITORS ALLOWED

f 7

The general public has no moral, vate office or laboratories.

legal or

“Luther Burbank is so interesting a sub- jeet to the general public that his personal friends have had to take active measures to save him from his admirers. Not only do people flood him with questions by mail, but a large proportion of the visitors to the Pacifie Coast do not think their duty done

NEW USES FOR CACTUS

“While a distinguished citizen of Santa Rosa has made over the cactus into a valu- able edible plant, an Englishman in South Africa has found several new uses to which the old-fashioned cactus may be put with- out dehorning. This man is British Consul Garrels, who represents King Edward’s gov- ernment at Zanzibar in East Africa, which has as much cactus as the American desert. At his suggestion after his own experiments, paper manufacturers in Port Elizabeth have undertaken to turn the cactus fiibre into paper, and their success is Said to be un- qualified. If this account is correct, there heed be no more uneasiness about’ the world's paper supply; there is enough prickly pear and other cactus growing now to run all the newspapers in the world for several decades, and before the visible sup- ply is exhausted many times that much more can be grown if it is needed.

“But Mr. Garrels goes even further than the paper mill when he takes his cactus to market. What the paper mill does not want he will put to other uses. He says the cac- tus iS Suitable for the production of soap, of alcohol, linoleum, sugar, unbreakable uten- sils such as haskets, pails basins and the

like, and last but not least important, for the making of a_ suitable substitute for leather, which is as good as the real leather.

“There appears to be no reason to disbe- lieve the Englishman's hopeful prophecies. And in this connection it. may be remarked

other right to invade

my grounds, home, pri-

without stopping off at Santa Rosa te have a chat with the originator of the- spineless cactus: As a result, Mr. Burbank 4s- not- ‘at home’ to the public, and his approaches are guarded rather more effectually, if anything. than those to the President of the United States.”—‘‘Washington (D.C.) Herald.” bara

that the present generation is using many a things that our ancestors regarded as use= less. Tomatoes were long believed to be poisonous. For several centuries, -men ~ handled oysters but could find no better use for them than to burn them for the sake of the lime in the shells. century or two, we learn that the first” man who burned coal in England was laughed at and called a liar and a fool, when he tola his neighbors he had found “black rocks that

would burn.”—‘‘Press Democrat.” Santa Rosa, © Cal. eee

NEW USE FOR SPINELESS cAcTUs

“Paper of fine quality can be made from the fibre inside leaf of the Burbank Spineless. Cactus. While little has been. said about this fact, it has nevertheless received, “ana

is receiving the attention of some of. the <2

large paper manufacturers of the country, 2 number of whom have been in communica- tion with Mr. Burbank on the gti “Courier.” Petaluma, Calif. a

“EXTERMINATION OF MOSQUITOES BY CACTUS PASTE

“Consul William Henry Bishop of Palermo. Italy, transmits the following information relative to experiments made by the chief of the sanitary service at Gaboon, French Afri- ca, with the cactus as a substitute for pe- troleum for the extermination of mosquitoes in warm climates.

And? going back Sees.

warm

“mucilaginous

“The thick pulpy leaves of the cactus, cut up in pieces, are thrown into water and macerated until a sticky paste is formed. This paste is spread upon the surface of stagnant water, and forms an isolating layer which prevents the larvae of the mosauitoes from coming to the top to breathe and destroys them through asphyxiation. It is true that petroleum can do the same service, but in climates petroleum evaporates too “and is thus. of dJittle -avail:.. The cactus. paste. on the con- trary, can hold its place indefinitely, last- ing weeks, months, or even an entire year; and the period of development of the larvae being but about a fortnight it has the most thorough effect.”—‘‘Scientific American.”

quickly

CACTUS ALCOHOL

“Tt is not yet determined by experimenters if all the 10 per cent carbohydrates in ecac- ‘tus are available for making into alcohol.

-but it is ascertained that in the vicinity of

. San

Antonio, Tex., cactus can every three years, ‘giving about 73,000 pounds per acre—and California. can do quite as well—and if all of the carbohydrates in this amount were fermentable, it would give 360 pounds or about 521 gallons of alcohol, which

be harvested

at 40 cents a gallon would be worth $298.40 as against $32.25 the sum that can be obtain- ed from corn.

Cut this in one half and it would be a marked advance over the produc- “tion of corn. Then

more agreeable and the yild under cultivation

much in excess of the wild as given in the

City of San Diego does most heartily

prised te learn this fact,

figures above as computed by R. E. Hare of the Mexican Experimental Station.”

_“Aecording to official analysis,” said Dr. Houghten yesterday, speaking of the commercial possibilities of the cacti, ‘‘the

-Spineless varieties show a percentage of You will be sur-. as were also. the.

nutriment next te alfalfa.

officials of the railroad. If the millions or -acres. of. desert in the Southwest, now cot:- sidered as So much waste for want of water could be made te raise alfalfa, of course no-

body would hesitate a moment about getting

busy in that direction, for it would mean

millions of dollars to the railroads of this

part of America and millions of dollars to the producers.”’—Riverside (Cal.) Press. “That the Chamber of Commerce of the en- dorse the efforts to spread the new Burbank fodder, thornless Cactus, throughout the

Southwest, thereby rendering highly produc-

“te aoe states that cactus - fiber "e the. equal of asbestos but possesses.a

tive vast areas of arid and semi-arid lands, and thus still further demonstrating the ag- ricultural importance of this section of the country ‘Chamber of Commerce.

CACTUS FIBER FOR BRAKE LINING TESTED .

“During the past year J.D, ewes has tested various. brake- lining materials and is not only >num-

if the spineless cactus - 3 were used the handling would be so much ~~

engines of all kinds, and

“which

."—Resolution adopted by San Diego —

makes it highly de- purpose.”

ber of qualities which sirable for the new Motor Age.”

—"'‘Chicago

BURBANK CACTUS IS A GOOD FODDER

“Berkeley, Feb. 8.—Experiments just com- pleted by M. E. Jaffa, head of the depart- ment of nutrition and foods at the Universi- ty show that the new species of thornless cactus has properties as fodder for cattle which will equal many of the desert grasses. The tests were made at the request of Lu- ther Burbank, the originator of the new Species of plant, and have proved to the full the great importance of the new plant as a fodder for cattle in the waste lands. Profes- sor Jaffa’s report on the experiment has just been completed and will be forwarded to Burbank in a few days.

“A short time ago five species of the plant were sent to the agricultural station here to determine the food value. The series of ex- periments carried on by Prof. Jaffa show that the new plant carries nutritive powers which equal three-quarters of that of alfal- fa.’—''The Berkeley (Cal.) Independent.”

“The demand for Ethyl alcohol for indus- trial uses is expected to be very large, now

that the heavy internal revenue tax has been removed on that product when made unfit for drinking purposes by the aa- dition of a little methyl or wood. al- eohol and pbenzine. This denatured al- eohol, as it is termed, may be used

for fuel purposes and for lighting, as in Europe. It serves to run automobiles and in the manufac. has a hundred uses. The extent to it may be employed in this country will depend largely on the cest of making it as compared with gasoline, and estimates are current that under the requirements im- posed by Congress it can scarcely be tailed at less than 40 cents a gallon. “Ethyl alcohol may be made from many substances, and one of them is the common eactus of the deserts. A bulletin issued by the New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station gives some interesting particulars in this regard. It relates the experience of a man in New Mexico who cultivated cactus: for a number of years, to see what results could be had. He estimated that if the plant were cultivated on 1000 acres without harvesting for three years, 100 tens could be obtained indefinitely from that area every day in the year, making 73,000 pounds per acre annually. : 2

“That the millions of acres of desert land overgrown with cactus may be made a source of large revenue seems almost. incredible. but stranger things have happened. Unless Burbank be badly mistaken the spineless cactus is destined to become one of the most useful of plants, furnishing abundance of food for man and beast in régions which have been regarded as” too sterile and deso- late for any form of stock-raising or farm-

tures

Fe>

ing. And the profitable conversion of the -e¢ommon form of the plant into alcohol seems even. better assured.’—‘“The Sacramento (Calyi-Bee.7: : eee

SUGAR FROM PRICKLY PEAR

At the instance of the Queensland Govern-~ ment experiments have been made with prickly pear for the extraction of sugar, and it is claimed that two tons of prickly pear yield as much sugar as three tons of sugar cane and of an equally good quality.—Ameri- ean Review of Tropical Agriculture, Mexico City, Mexico.

We believe that Americans will acquire a liking for this fruit more readily than they do for tropical and sub-tropical fruits in general.—From Bulletin Agricultural Experi- ment Station, New Mexico.

“An effort was made, however, to give the cattle all the pear they would eat. As nearly as can be estimated, therefore, 80 acres of excellent pear furnished a full ration for an average of 800 head of cattle for a period of six months.”

NEW PLANT FOR FORAGE

That Spineless Cactus is a Suecess Has

Been Proven at Yuma

The growing of Spineless Cactus is no longer a desert dream, or the figment of the imagination. This desert wonder is being grown in the cesert lands adjacent to Yuma

STILL ON | a: This Is Only the First Chapter in the History of the Spineless Cactus —

and some surprisingly good results are being obtained.—“Times,” Bouse, Arizona. :

Is man also to redeem the desert for civil- ization? ‘The French will test Burbanks’ spineless cactus on Sahara and the desert island of Mayotte, off Madagascar, and the English and Germans will try its virtues: in their South African possessions. Burbank’s creation is declared to be palatable not only to cattle, but to man, and it thrives on areas that are hopelessly arid, provided there he plenty of heat and light. It would be an al- most crowning achievement if, by his genius, man, after these thousands of years were able to announce the doom of the desert.—‘Jour- nal,’ Portland, Ore.

RESTORING THE LAND

There is every prospect that before the —

life’s work of Luther Burbank has ended he will have seen thousands of square miles of

desert lands of the world trained to a profit-_ able condition of fertility through the medium of his spineless cactus, The. British govern-~ _— oe:

ment is considering the feasibility of intro- ducing Mr. Burbank's hybrid plant in ‘the Sahara. desert, with a view of eventually

forcing the most unprolific district in the world to support life.—“Register-Leader,” Des

Moines, Iowa.

a

DECK

a, *. 9a A

i

2 ASP gh ial The: cide. e “hese new. “iio inane aariae teas important to the world as the dis- i ae “eevery of anew continents ‘Judge S. F. Lk, San jose. Cal.

ae Nt hae ed | 5 has been called a “vegetable that grows fruit.’ ’

ate Se cate be safely aaa without fear of contradiction that the prophesies of Luther Burbank > fegarding Spineless Cactus is now being fully realized-- and*that it is now taking its place at the

‘head of all forage plants as a stock and dairy féed in our Western arid and semi-arid States, as well ac ‘poultry feed and a luscious fruit for our tables second to none.

3S ee et Iti is being grown in quite large plantings now—-one near San Francisco, that is claimed to pay $800 per acre for the fruit alone. The fruit commands lOc per lb. wholesale, and produces more a the: second year than any apple or peach orchard ever will.”

mee a poultry food it is unsurpassed. Poultry will leave alfalfa, lettuce and other green food for’ ‘cactus leaves.”

a fe et SV @Re ickiner poultrymen and lovers of fruit are missing a golden opportunity if you do not Be plant all you can of them.”

ve eo Vsther Burbank’s discovery indicates the last act in the drama which is to écivels transform “the desert as a barner to man’s energy.” “Star,” Pasadena, Cal.

es = ae 2) &“Luuther ‘Burbank hits done no higher work in the cause of humanity than his experiments with

: “the cactus, and a great. world urges on those who would take up the propagation, with the hope

ber that they” we be as action to finishing the task as the silent wizard was in performing the heaviest duty. Fe eS a soe vets Fe Portland Oregonian.”

= = REE ‘MONTH'S rps OF BURBANK CACTUS LEAF IN FLORIDA . - No Caet 4 at

» ae. jet “as FA 4 | a ee be a ‘a> re hs (Sey - + “ sz 4 ~ , oo lum - - tie 4 : r ; < 7 * ‘ ; . .* 2s a = seid Sr RREene a arcrenaaineee ee eae eae eee ee a Snare if ‘ 4 * od . 4 7 re ha u > iv « A, ; =. ; | TEE FR % - A - 4 “¥ 4 } ‘ : - ¥ » \ = 4 sant Py; o mo Jas. .

Mr Bur banks is pat ioe ‘hie a ise Sienna ing from his hortiewherat laboratceant Santee ‘RosePare tak by these engaged in up-t0-date plant shaw ine: Peledega

“At 4s. -theconviction of thé writer tharin-no homelo ‘hie’ it Qt em PP ae > there any one being. who is exercising a more potent infgEM for th

Pesta An fe J Sate. oe

és / ihe SAR ee tik Ae | Pe

ei A ere Sea a 2

his face than’ Luther Burbank.’ For in his work he is guided by es”. He

“on hy , fa

7

re

+) 4 principle of benevolence. the training of each individual aes peermedia ne Roctiag Mane: AS ‘Ope my

ai.

| “OTHER SAMPLE. RES > - Varieties IN , Mentioned in Fie List

"AGRICULTURE 2 iF ee Ay Pees

MiewWead: ee as any ie hs Sie &. ones eae prop porte Where ws no’ bdsiness4n Riss world that ists, iMpo as agneulure, = The eS is nione..that beginsaS: ‘compare with thigein she i invested. capil abgtir 28H:

bite billions of datlars tn the: Ghited: Sidtes None’ Awhich can compare =e ie eed : ia--totad: pkOduction of: Wealth: Which WAS. about seven ang DME: 733 Sethi Vici =

diary a O08. mF pe cucanonal Review, ek Sei ie pie far cana: youre