It has been found necessary to give some appropriate name to those not having any, as otherwise confusion would reign supreme and no satisfactory classification or description could be given for the guidance of planters.
This list includes nearly all of the older Opuntias well tested on my grounds, which seem to be of unusual promise agriculturally or horticulturally. Hundreds of other varieties have either not been fully tested, have been received under several names or have not proved themselves of value equal to those here described. Many so-called "thornless" ones have been received which were far from being of any value except as freaks. Life is too short to be constantly under the surgeon's knife for the removal of spines.
THE BEST OF THESE IMPROVED SPINELESS OPUNTIAS WHEN GROWN UNDER FAVORABLE CONDITIONS ON GOOD CULTIVATED SOIL IN A WARM CLIMATE MAY CONFIDENTLY BE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE ONE HUNDRED TONS OF FEED PER ACRE EACH SEASON.
The Tuna and Ficus indica classes are without doubt from the same original source, the Ficus indica class being only a more thoroughly domesticated one having been more carefully cultivated and selected. For convenience classed as "Barbary figs" and" Tunas."
The selection of Opuntia cuttings is of importance. Those who have grown them on the shores of the Mediterranean for hundreds of years always select "bearing wood" if fruit is the object, and the least thorny and bristly leaves if a plantation is to be produced for forage. Some of the partially spiny ones may be made almost wholly so by careful selection of cuttings.
ANACANTHA (U.S. 3423) (Ficus indica class)
This variety has been received from many sources under the name given above, and several others. It is, on the whole, nearly or quite the best of all of the older varieties for stock feed. A tremendous grower rapidly producing great leaves two feet or more long by six or eight inches wide, quite thick and often weighing six or eight pounds each. Two or three of the larger leaves are enough to feed a sheep a day. They have no bristles and only a few short, weak spines which can be eliminated by selection. Their fruit is late and sparingly produced, four and one-half inches long by two inches in diameter, greenish crimson, flesh light yellow, good quality. Their seeds abundant but small, and are extensively grown in North Africa for forage.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.50: one hundred pounds, $12.00
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SMITH (Ficus indica class)
This is one of the parents of many of my spineless hybrids, imported from North Africa with five other varieties some fourteen years ago by Professor Emory E. Smith. A somewhat similar variety but bearing large yellow fruits of good quality was, imported by Mr. John Rock thirty-two years ago and sparingly planted, both being more or less thorny, though the thorns are very insignificant when compared with the ordinary Barbary fig. Both are extensively grown in Southern Europe and North Africa and the fruits commonly offered for sale in Paris and other markets. The Smith is a strong grower with rather large leaves (thalli) which as well as the fruit are generally well supplied with bristles and some spines. It is a most productive variety. Fruit nearly five inches long by two or two and one-fourth inches through. Skin thin, flesh crimson of most excellent quality. One of the best kinds to grow for fruit as it ripens early and is large and attractive by its crimson color but rather difficult to pick or handle unless the bristles are first removed with a whiskbroom or by some other means.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.00; one hundred pounds, $8.00
MYERS
This extremely fine variety was discovered by Mr. Frank livers in a garden near Trapuato, Mexico, and has never been known except in the garden where found. The plant is always absolutely free from even the least trace of spines and except in rare cases is totally free from bristles and these only on the old trunks. It is an upright but rather slow grower, with leaves sixteen inches long by six wide, very thick, and fat. The plant is said to bear large, white, fine, sweet flavored fruit abundantly. The general appearance of the plant suggests that it may be a natural cross of the Tapuna and Ficus indica types.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $2.00; one hundred pounds $15.00
MALTA (U.S. 9352) (Ficus indica class)
Received through my esteemed friend David G. Fairchild. It is a good, hardy, rapid grower with medium sized leaves that are eighteen inches long by eight wide. The plant has very few, short, weak, hair-like spines, and its bristles are almost wholly absent. The fruit is nearly four inches long by two in diameter with yellow skin that turns to light red when fully ripe. It has flesh salmon with crimson shadings, and is sweet and good but not of the best quality. It bears abundantly even when quite young.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.50; one hundred pounds, $12.00
GYMNOCARPA (U.S. 12402) (Ficus indica class)
It is an extra good compact grower, with bluish-green leaves eighteen inches long by nine wide and quite thick. The plant contains very few, small, weak spines and rarely any bristles. The fruit is red, three inches long by nearly two and a half in diameter, and free from bristles. The flesh is crimson, solid, meaty, and of superior quality. It promises to be one of the very best, especially for fruiting.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.50; one hundred pounds, $12.00
SKELLEY (Ficus indica class)
Received from Mr. E. R. Skelley of Riverside, California, who imported it from Sicily in October, 1895. It is a strong compact grower of drooping habit. the plant is thornless except for a few weak, hairlike remnants, and has almost no bristles. The leaves are sixteen inches long by eight across, thick, and pale green. It has not borne fruit here yet. Mr. Skelley informs me that it produces superior fruit and is extensively grown for food, being generally offered for sale throughout the Island in the markets. Mr. Skelley found it extensively grown on the bare lava of Mount Aetna without rain for months, "the trunks in some cases being larger around than a man's body."
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.50; one hundred pounds, $12.00
CORFU (Ficus indica class)
Resembles the Skelley Opuntia very much in all respects, it is however not quite as strong in growth and has almost no spines and no bristles. The leaves fifteen inches long by eight wide, thick, and pale green. This was imported by Mr. E.R. Skelley in 1899 from the Island of Corfu in the Adriatic where it has been extensively grown for several hundred years. Mr. Skelley writes that "the fruit is delicious." It has not borne fruit here.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.50; one hundred pounds, $12.00
CATANIA (U.S. 3642) (Ficus indica class)
It was received by the Bureau of Plant Industry through Mr. W. T. Swingle in July, 1900, from a village near Catania, Sicily. It is said to be a very good fruiting Opuntia. Its leaves are eighteen inches long by eight wide, fairly thick. It is nearly spineless, with bristles short that are generally absent altogether. It is a strong grower with a broad weeping habit. It has not borne fruit here.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.00; one hundred pounds, $8.00
MISSION (or Hall) (Ficus indica class)
It is very similar to Corfu and Skelley but the leaves are larger, fifteen inches long by nine wide, with only a few scattering weak spines and no bristles. It is a good grower of compact weeping habit, fruit the size of a hen's egg, red, seedy, and fair quality.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.00; one hundred pounds, $8.00
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BLANCO (White) (Ficus indica class)
Received from Mr. Walter Bryant, Tepic, Mexico. It is a strong, compact grower, with light green that are eighteen inches long by eight wide. It has some small weak spines and some bristles. It is not yet rooted here.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.00; one hundred pounds, $7.00
MORADA (Reddish) (Tuna, class )
From near Tepic, Mexico. Similar to Blanco but with dark green leaves that are twelve inches long by six wide and quite thick. It has some weak spines and bristles. The plant has not fruited here yet.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.00; One hundred pounds, $7.00
COLORADO (Red) (Tuna class)
From near Tepic, Mexico. Plant is similar to Morada but with smaller leaves. The fruit is good, dark red, size and shape of a hen's egg, abundantly produced.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.00; one hundred pounds, $7.00
TAORMINA (U.S. 9353) (Ficus indica class)
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Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.50: one hundred pounds, $12.00
HAYNE
This variety was secured for me by Mr. Wm. Ashton Hayne in his travels in Mexico. Like Myers, it seems to be a cross of the Tapuna and Ficus indica classes. It is a fairly strong grower. Leaves nine by twelve inches, pale bluish-green. It contains no spines and almost no bristles, and its fruit is not seen. Very promising.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $2.00; one hundred pounds, $15.00
WHITE FRUIT (U.S. 3186) (Ficus indica class)
It is a strong compact grower, with leaves twelve inches long by seven wide, and not very thick. The plant is nearly free from spines and bristles and it has not borne fruit here. It is a promising Opuntia for both fruit and forage.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.00; one hundred pounds, $8.00
MONELOVA
Mr. Carlos T. Plant secured it for me near Monelova, Mexico. A strong hardy-appearing plant, with leaves that are eighteen inches long by twelve wide, thick, and a pale bluish-green. It has short spines and bristles and is said to form a large plant, producing an abundance of excellent fruit. Although this is called a "thornless cactus," the short spines and bristles do not recommend it for forage.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.00; one hundred pounds, $7.00
WATSON (Tapuna class)
Received from Professor J. R. Watson of Central Mexico. It is one of the most vigorous and handsome of the Tapunas. The leaves are nearly a perfect circle in outline. They are ten inches across, quite thick, and a pale bluish-green with only a few spines and some bristles. It is the most abundantly productive. The fruit are the size and shape of a hen's egg, bright red, and rather seedy, but good.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.50; one hundred pounds, $12.00
MARIN
It is the only one of the older Opuntias that is absolutely without spines or bristles. Small plants, rather tender and of no special use as a forage plant now that better ones are known. The leaves are thin, eight inches long by five wide. It was received from Florida, Hawaiian Islands, Mexico, and is also growing in many places in California. It has not borne fruit here. This Opuntia is often called "Marine" in the Hawaiian Islands and is said to have been introduced to the Islands by Don Francisco de Paula Marin in 1791. Another variety called "papiki", which means cattle-pen, was introduced by Sr. Marin at the same time and is quite common, and although it is very heavily armed with spines, it is often eaten by various domestic animals.
Mr. Gerrit P. Wilder, Honolulu, says, "The cattle on the dry and barren wastes of the ranges here depend during the droughts upon the green leaves for their water and we are glad to have discovered this variety here. I am sending you a sample of it thinking you may be interested and trust you will get it in good order. This plant has lately been introduced to the other islands of this group and samples have been sent to the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C."
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.00; one hundred pounds, $8.00
TRAILING
It is a curious, rapid growing, but still small, spreading plant. Its leaves are glossy green and always free from a trace of bristles, although a single, long, slender spine will appear here and there on the plant. It is valuable principally for the complete absence of bristles though it will produce more feed per acre than the Hawaiian thornless variety (Marin) and it is much hardier. The leaves average six inches long by three wide and are quite thick, and the fruit small and rather seedy.
Cuttings: Ten pounds, $1.00; one hundred pounds, $8.00
Besides those here mentioned I have about three hundred other species and varieties and many thousand seedlings.
Our cuttings are lightly but safely packed so that they will reach you in good condition, transportation to be paid by purchaser.
Please state whether you wish the cuttings sent by express or freight; most of them are too large to be sent by mail. Special express rates are allowed on cactus and other cuttings and plants (if prepaid eight cents per pound).
No order can be accepted for less than one dollar. Terms Cash.
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