Plant-breeding; comments on the experiments of Nilsson and Burbank . elfof the correctness of the description of them, and of theirfitness for his work. Of course, by one crossing, the chanceis not large enough to get a desirable combination. Repeatedcrossings are rec^uired, and each has to be accompanied by aselection of the most promising specimens. In this way,size, flavor, and fleshiness may steadily increase, while theamount of the remnants of the stone is always kept as smallas possible. A counterpart to the stoneless prune, is the spinelesscactus. It belongs to the genus Opuntia, some s
Plant-breeding; comments on the experiments of Nilsson and Burbank . elfof the correctness of the description of them, and of theirfitness for his work. Of course, by one crossing, the chanceis not large enough to get a desirable combination. Repeatedcrossings are rec^uired, and each has to be accompanied by aselection of the most promising specimens. In this way,size, flavor, and fleshiness may steadily increase, while theamount of the remnants of the stone is always kept as smallas possible. A counterpart to the stoneless prune, is the spinelesscactus. It belongs to the genus Opuntia, some species ofwhich are very celebrated, since they produce the Indianfigs, wliich may be seen on the markets of New York andelsewhere in the eastern states, where, notwithstanding theirspines, they are highly appreciated as a dehcacy. TheOpuntias are desert plants, growing abundantly and in quitea number of species on the plains of the semi-arid regionsof the West. Their stems consist of large flat pods, joinedtogether in the most fantastic manner. They are often seen. 193 194 PLANT-BREEDING reaching a height of some six feet, with numerous wide-spread branches. Tlieir fruit is rehshed by cattle, beingjuicy and nutritious, and not too spiny. The disc-hke seg-ments of the stem also contain nutritious food, and this issometimes made use of, the prickles being softened by cook-ing under the influence of the juice from the cellular cooking is an expensive mode of preparation, and thusthe thorns prevent the use and culture of the cacti on anylarge scale. From this discussion it is evident that a spineless edibleOpuntia would be a most welcome adcUtion to the agricul-ture of the semi-arid West. It could be cultivated withoutirrigation on the same plains where the spiny forms nowoccur in the wild state. It would turn deserts into fertileranches, admitting of cattle raising, and thus restoring thelands to human industry. The genus Opuntia is very rich in species, many of whicha
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