Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Sole Distributer f
LUTHER BURBAIVK:
SANTA. ROSA, CALIF.
U. S. A.
For more than fifty years I have been were known and very little interest taken
quite familiar with "thornless cactus" of in the cacti of any kind, either thorny or
many species and varieties. In fact, one thornless, as to their agricultural or hor-
of the first pets which I had in earliest ticultural value until some seventeen
childhood was a thornless cactus, one of years ago when the work of improvement
the beautiful Epiphyllums. was taken up on my experiment farms,
The Phyllocactus and many of the and improved perfectly smooth, rapid-
Cereus family are also thornless, not a growing varieties had been produced and
trace to be found on any part of the plants made known.
or fruit. Thus the somewhat indefinite Some of the best growers among these
popular name of "spineless cactus'" has will produce five to ten times as much
been used by persons unacquainted with weight of food as will the wild thorny
these facts, for be it known that "thorn- ones (which some ignorant or unprinci-
less cactus" is no more of a novelty than pled dealers have recommended for cul-
a "thornless" watermelon. tivation), under exactly the same condi-
But among the Cacti, which grow to an tions. These wonderful results were not
immense size with great rapidity and unexpected as the genus Opuntia is a
which can be readily cultivated in garden, surprisingly variable one, even in the
field or desert, no perfectly thornless ones wild state.
2
—
The best botanists even those who These fruits, which are borne on the
have made the Opuntias a special study different species and varieties, vary in
declare it to be one of the most difficult size from that of a small peanut to the
genera to classify, as new forms are con- size of a very large banana and in colors
stantly appearing and the older ones so of crimson, scarlet, orange, yellow and
gradually and imperceptibly merge to- white, and also shaded in various colors
gether. The facts, without doubt, are that like apples, pears, peaches and plums, and
their ancestors had leaves like other vege- with more various attractive flavors than
tation and were as thornless as an apple are found in most other fruits except, per-
tree, but in ages past were stranded in haps, the apple and the pear, the product
a region which was gradually turning to of a single plant being often from 50 to
a desert, perhaps, by the slow evapora- 200 pounds per annum, some bearing one
tion of some great inland lake or sea. crop, others two or more each season like
the figs, the first or main crop ripening
Being thus stranded the plants which
as the second comes into bloom on the
could adapt themselves to the heat and
same plants.
drought which as the years passed by be-
came each season more and more severe, The Opuntias, from root to tip, are
survived, at first by dropping the leaves, practically all food and drink and are
thus preventing too much evaporation, greatly relished by all herbivorous ani-
leaving the fat smooth stems only to per- mals, and for this very reason have had
form the functions of leaves. to be on the defensive, and perhaps no-
where whole vegetable kingdom
in the
The Opuntias even to this dav always have such elaborate preparations been
shoot very numerous rudimentary
out made; the punishment inflicted is imme-
leaves, which persist a few days or weeks diate, the pain severe and lasting, often
and then, having no function to perform, ending in death, so that all living things
drop off. These rudimentary leaves which have learned to avoid the Opuntias as
always appear for a time on the young they do rattlesnakes, and notwithstanding
slabs are often mistaken for big thorns by their most delicious and nourishing fruit
those who are not familiar with the produced unfailingly in greatest abund-
growth and habits of the plant. ance have never before been systematic-
ally improved by the Agriculturalist and
But the Opuntias had yet to meet an-
enemy desert animals were hungry Horticulturalist as their merits so well de-
other ;
serve.
for their rich stores of nutriment and
water, so the rudimentary leaves were By my collectors and others, for the
supplemented by the awful needle-like earliestexperiments in this work, the best
thorns placed at exactly the right angles Opuntias from all sections of Mexico,
for the best defense. from Central and South America, from
North and South Africa, Australia, Japan,
Some seventeen years ago, while test- Hawaii and the South Sea Islands, were
ing the availability of a 8:reat number of
secured. The United States Agricultural
proposed foraee plants from the various Department at Washington, through my
arid regions of the world with a view to
friend, Mr. David G. Fairchild, also se-
the improvement of the most promising, I cured eight kinds of partially thornless
was sfreatly impressed with the apparent ones for me from Sicily, Italy, France and
possibilities in this line Rmonq; the Opun-
North Africa, besides a small collection of
tias,which from their well-known vis^or Mexican wild thorny ones which were in
and rapidity of growth, easy multiplica- the Government greenhouses at the time.
tion and universal adaptability to condi-
Besides these I had the hardy wild species
tions of drought, flood, heat, cold, rich from Maine, Iowa, Missouri, Colorado,
or arid soil, place them as a class far ahead California, Arizona, New Mexico, Dakota,
of all other members of the great cactus Texas and other States.
family, both as forage plants and for their
most wholesome and delicious
attractive, All these were grown and their agricul-
fruits, which are produced abundantly and turaland horticultural values studied and
without fail each season. compared with great care.
s
I
Japan, Egypt, Madagascar or France? They are for defense, and when de-
No, it is the same everywhere and the res- prived of these defenses they must be
idents of Chicago, Auckland, London, San protected from stock like any other feed
Francisco, New York and Valparaiso con- grown in farm, fields or gardens.
Still some doubter who has no knowl-
sume them in great (and rapidly increas-
edge of desert conditions or of these new
ing) numbers of carloads each season.
plants will say, "Will it pay?" Does any-
The same may be said of the later intro- thing pay? Some people seem to think
duced Wickson, America and numerous that corn, wheat, oats, barley, cotton, rice,
other plums and of my improved fruits tobacco, melons and potatoes pay.
and flowers which are extensively grown
and generally offered for sale by most re-
How many tons of hay, beets or pota-
toes can be raised each season on an acre
sponsible firms in all civilized countries of good soil? Yes, well, by actual weight
and are generally slowly but very surely in the summer of 1906 in the cool coast
replacing the old and heretofore standard climate of Sonoma County, Cal., on a
varieties. heavy, black "adobe" soil, generally
It will be so with these "new creations" thought wholly unsuited for cactus, my
in Opuntia. Tens of thousands of others new Opuntias produced the first year, six
not now ready to be distributed are under months from single rooted leaves, planted
test, this catalog partially describing only about June 1, an average of 47^ pounds
the beginnings of a great work with the per plant or one-fourth acre, yielding at
Opuntias, which in importance may be the distance planted (2%x5 feet), at the
classed with the discovery of a new con- rate of 180,230 pounds, over ninety tons,
tinent. of forage per acre.
6
Some of the best varieties produced very much feed the third and succeeding years
much above this average. as they do the second season of planting.
Though planted much too closely for Yet, I would not expect one-fourth the
permanent field culture, yet these notes above yield on desert soil without irriga-
are of interest on a subject of which little tion but would expect nearly or quite
has been known. twice as much as the yield mentioned
These Opuntias are always expected to above in a very warm climate with one or
and do produce nearly or quite double as two light irrigations each season.
7
An Australian Scene —Feeding Wild Thorny Cactus to Sheep in Times of Drought. Often Death
Was the Penalty, Due to the Thorns —But Many Sheep Were Saved.
8
thorns, was the only obstacle to a greater a period as long as fifty years, and the
use, for otherwise the forage properties plants are still vigorous and productive.
of the wild, thorny cactus are excellent By adding a very small quantity of
and most satisfactory to the stockmen. chopped straw to tiie slabs, excellent re-
A sort of gasoline blow-torch has been sults are had in feeding beef cattle, milch
used with considerable success, particular- cows, goats, etc.
ly in the southwestern portion of the From Hawaii the manager of one of
United States and in Australia. Boiling, the largest ranches writes
as well as singeing by other methods, has
been resorted to and with such success Haleakala Ranch,
that many thousands of cattle and sheep Makawao, Maui, T. H.,
April 17, 1905.
have been saved from certain starvation Editor Butchers' and Stock Growers'
during droughts. Journal:
I read with much interest in your issue of the
However, no method has been wholly
30th ultimo the article on "Cactus-Fed Beef."
satisfactory, as it seems to be utterly im- On this ranch we have one paddock of twelve
possible to get rid of all the thorns and hundred acres covered very thickly with cactus
do it on an economical commercial scale. or prickly pear; there is also a slight growth of
Bermuda grass growing. In this paddock are
In North Africa, according to M. A. pastured, all the year round, four hundred head
Johanne, in the Journal D'Agriculture of cattle and about seven hundred hogs. The
Tropicale, (Paris), the thorny cactus is cattle only get water when it rains, this is,
considered a forage plant of great im- during the months of December and January; the
other ten months they subsist entirely and solely
portance in the feeding of stock. The wild on the fruit and young leaves of the cactus,
cactus has been taken under cultivation, which they help themselves to. It is a remark-
and plantations have been cultivated for able fact that during the dry months of the year
Using the Gasoline Torch to Singe the Thorns From the Wild Thorny Cactus so the Cactus Could
Be Fed to Live Stock. An Expensive Process, But Practiced by Many on
(Account of the Food Value of the Cactus
t
: :
we get more fat cattle per cent from that pad- H. W. Giddens of the Giddens Stock
dock than from any of the others.
I consider cattle fed on cactus like these are
Farm, Texas, says
to have as fine flavored beef as any I have tasted "Cactus produces a good, rich, grass-colored
in San Francisco or New Zealand. butter, without any odor or flavors. We feed in
The hiogs, with the exception of a light daily the field, and simply singe the spines."
ration of com, fed to keep them tame, live ex-
clusively on the young leaves and fruit, which Actual feeding tests with a large num-
are fed to them by herders, and thrive wonder- ber of stock have been held where the
fully.
chief food for the stock consisted of wild
L. VON TEMPSKY,
Manager Haleakala Ranch Co. cactus. It was found that under adverse
conditions the gain in weight was very
In Texas, William St. Clair, a successful satisfactory and the cattle thrived exceed-
cattleman, who has for years been using ingly well. The cattle were handled in
the wild, thorny cactus for cattle food, the same manner as the ordinary stock,
writes and were shipped into the Eastern market,
"We very poor policy to put the slightest
find it where they brought the highest prices.
limit on the amount our cows get. The more Innumerable instances might be cited
they can eat, the better they thrive, and the in addition to the foregoing which show
more milk they give. There is nothing that sets
them back more than a shortage of cactus. If we the satisfactory results of feeding the
happen to be shiort of milk, the cause is almost wild, thorny cactus, aside from the dis-
invariably traced to the lack of cactus." advantages occasioned by thorns.
10
Luther Burbank Among His Thornless Cactus Plants at Santa Rosa
Third. He has also increased the food tus is a crop that is adapted to both cheap
value of the Burbank Spineless Cactus land and high-priced land. The better
very materially. the soil and general conditions, the greater
Fourth. He has also developed enor- the yield.
mously the productivity of the cactus, hav- It has many advantages over other
ing, in fact, increased the productivity in crops, the chief one being that it is a green
many instances over tenfold. succulent forage for livestock THE
Fifth. Mr. Burbank has increased the YEAR ROUND. It does not have to be
yield of fruit very greatly, and has de- harvested at any particular season, and if
veloped the sugar content, which runs as immediate use is not contemplated, the
"That the millions of acres of desert land world as the discovery of a new continent."
overgrown with cactus may be made a source Judge S. F. L., San Jose, Cal.
of large revenue, seems almost incredible, but
stranger things have happened. Unless Burbank
be badly mistaken, the spineless cactus is destin-
ed to become one of the most useful of plants,
RESTORING THE LAND
furnishing abundance of food for man and beast There every prospect that before the life's
is
in regions which have been regarded as too work of Luther Burbank has ended he will have
sterile and desolate for any form of stock raising seen thousands of square miles of desert lands
or farming. And the profitable conversion of of the world trained to a profitable condition of
the common form of the plant into alcohol seems fertility through the medium of his spineless
even better assured." —"The Sacramento (Cal.) cactus. The Britsh government is considering
Bee." the feasibility of introducing Mr. Burbank's
hybrid plant in the Sahara desert, with a view of
eventually forcing the most unprolific district in
"The production of these new spineless fruitr —
the world to support life. "Register-Leader,"
ixig cacti is, in my opinion, as important to the Des Moines, Iowa.
It
Where Cactus Can be Successfully Grown
Cactus can be grown close in along the for the successful cultivation of the new
coast of California, south to San Diego, Giant Burbank Cactus plants for fruit and
in the great valleys of California, in a forage it will be observed that the whole
;
cording to elevation and other factors. In territory, including more than three-
a general way, this is the part of the
fourths of the inhabitable land of the
United States best adapted for cactus
earth is being somewhat extended by the
culture.
Maps Globe with cross lines in-
of the production of hardier varieties. This work
dicating the northern and southern limits is progressing slowly but very surely.
"Burbank's thomless cactus is certainly prov- "On one of our experimental farms, in this
ing itself to be the modem vegetable marvel. we have some of Mr. Burbank's thornless
state,
cactus growing side by side with the best varie-
Nothing like it has ever been produced before.
ties of the government's thomless cactus, dis-
Its vitality surpasses the limit of belief, for noth- tributed last spring.
ing in the vegetable world has ever shown such "The rate of increase on the part of the poorest
wonderful resistant capacity, such reproductive of the Burbank cactus as compared to the best
powers, such exuberance of growth." "Stand- — of the government cactus is about fifteen to one."
ard," Eureka, Cal. — "Enterprise," Silver City, N. M.
18
The Spineless Cactus for Forage
For all Livestock Including Poultry
The leaves or slabs of the spineless The fact is often observed that ani-
cactus are used for food for all kinds of mals, when fed on cactus, improve in con-
stock including poultry. The whole plant, dition more than can be accounted for by
both the leaves and the fruit, almost the chemical analysis for food
usual
without exception, finds immediate favor values. has been a matter of much
It
with all herbiverous animals. study by chemists until it was discovered
They actually prefer it to almost any by actual experiment that the organic
other food. More than that, it makes a mineral salts, known as sodium, potash
superior quality of beef and exceedingly and magnesia aided in the digestion of
rich milk. This is not surprising as the food, which was not otherwise assimi-
cactus is one of the richest foods known lated and utilized by the animal.
in sodium, potash and magnesium, which "The Burbank Spineless Cactus will
found in milk.
are the principal salts prove especially valuable in feeding dairy
These valuable organic salts are found cattle, as it will furnish a succulent feed
in the cactus more abundantly than in throughout the entire year, so that an
any other food. even flow of milk can be obtained.
"When fed with a little cotton-seed meal been fattened on the same rations, and
or other concentrated food or used with sheep, hogs and calves are being prepared
about fifteen pounds of good alfalfa hay, for the market on an exclusive cactus
it will prove the ideal feed by which dairy- diet."
men may obtain the same quantity and As cattle always follow feed, there
quality of milk in January as in June. should be an ever-present market for cac-
"Even now, the best butter is being tus forage wherever it is grown. Besides,
made from dairy herds fed on singed wild as the different varieties of cactus mature
cactus with only three or four pounds of fruit from September to March, they en-
cotton-seed meal per day or its equivalent; joy a season of exceptional shipping ad-
while some of the best beef cattle have vantages.
15
I
100 Tons of Spineless Cactus Forage Per Acre Per Year. Field Scene at Santa Rosa
In the summer of 1906 in the coast cli- The Spineless Opuntias will produce
mate of Sonoma County, California, on nearly double as much feed the third and
the black heavy adobe, a soil thought succeeding years as they do the second
wholly unsuitable for cactus, there was season of planting.
produced an average of forty-seven and Of course, it would not be expected
one-half pounds per plant in six months' that there would be more than one-fourth
growth, from single rooted leaves. These of the above yield on desert soil without
jdelded 180,230 pounds or over ninety irrigation. Still there could be expected
tons of forage per acre. almost twice as much, as mentioned
One may reasonably expect, under fa- above, where the climate is warm and
vorable conditions, to obtain a yield up to where there are one or two light irriga-
100 tons of good forage per acre per year. tions each season.
16
Of Easy Culture and Rapid Growth
Burbank's Spineless Cactus Always Grown
from Cuttings, Never by Seeds
Everybody knows that Baldwin apples, result of proper treatment. It is but natu-
Bartlett pears and our favorite peaches, ral that under distressing conditions, due
plums and cherries can not be raised from to the lack of proper care, some varieties,
seeds; just the same laws hold true with especially fruiting varieties, may develop
the improved Opuntias, but fortunately a few short spines on the edge of a slab
they can be raised from cuttings in any or rarely one here and there, but these
quantity with the utmost ease more — generally will be found, if at all, to be soft
truly they raise themselves, for when and cottony and so insignificant as to be
broken from the parent plant, the cuttings harmless. What spines do appear as a
attend to rooting without further atten- general thing will drop off as the plant
tion, whether planted right end up, bot- grows older.
tom up, sideways or not at all. People who are not acquainted with the
Best results are generally secured by cactus often mistake the numerous point-
planting the lower half of the cuttings
ed leaflets on the undeveloped slabs for
below the surface of well-prepared, dry, spines. These, having no function to per-
warm soil or sand. form, soon drop off. They are as different
No form of plant life perhaps responds from spines as blossoms are from leaves.
more readily to kindly treatment than the
Opuntia. This is demonstrated in the The leaves of these new Giant cactus
faster, heavier and generally better varieties should be shrunken slightly or
growth possible through a moderate wilted at least (except in absolutely dry
amount of cultivation, the keeping down deserts or in very warm summer weath-
of grass and weeds, during the earlier er). Meantime, an earlier and more rapid
periods of growth. Larger yields of finer growth will be secured by plowing and
fruit and more and tenderer pads are the harrowing the land as for any other crop.
There is not any particular price for one acre of land will produce enough feed
cactus forage, simply because there is not for one cow, the cactus plant will grow
any for sale. And yet the question is enough feed for four. In other words, it
often asked, what it is worth? The best is four times the feeding value in quan-
answer that we can give is that where tity and quality of alfalfa.
Is man also to tedeem the desert for civiliza- man, and It thrives on areas that are hopelessly
tion? The French will test Burhank's spineless arid, provided there be plenty of heat and light.
cactus on Sahara and the desert islands of It would be an almost crowning achievement if,
Mayotte, off Madagascar, and the English and
by his genius, man, after these thousands of
Germans will try its virtues in their South
African possessions. Burbank's creation is de- years were able to announce the doom of the
clared to be palatable not only to cattle, but to desert. —"Journal," Portland, Ore.
17
FEEDING HOGS BURBANK SPINELESS CACTUS
These Hogs Gained Three-ciuarters of a Pound Each a Day. The Result of the Feeding Is Shown
by the Following Affidavit.
Twenty-two days' net gain for eight hogs was 118 pounds.
The net gain per hog for 22 days was 14 2-3 pounds, an average
of two-thirds pound per day.
Condition of pigs good, and in every way showed proof that
cactus makes an excellent and satisfactory green fodder, the cactus
supplying a good succulent ration for growing hogs.
During tests of pigs, a thoroughbred Berkshire sow, with four
suckling pigs, was put upon a diet of cactus and rolled barley.
Through lack of a proper supply of milk this sow had lost several
of her litter, and the remaining four were in poor condition. The
sow responded quickly to the cactus feed, giving a decided increase
in flow of milk, the result of which was shown in the rapid growth
and good condition of the suckling pigs. The small pigs soon learned
to like cactus and ate it greedily.
19
A Demonstration of the Superiority of Cactus as
a feed for Cows and Hogs
Afftbautt
As Feed For Dairy Cows the pigs whole and were torn to pieces
Milk Cactus and greedily eaten by them.
Lbs. Lbs. On the evening of September 21st the
pigs weighed together 210 pounds, show-
September 2, 1912 37 10
ing a net gain of ten pounds each over a
September 3, 1912 36 22
34^^ 38 period of eight days. During this period
September 4, 1912
they received in addition to the cactus
September 5, 1912 37^ 67
possibly five pounds of alfalfa, but noth-
September 6, 1912 42 75
ing else.
September 7, 1912 44 75
September 8, 1912 45 72 The physical condition of the pigs at
the end of the test was excellent, being
September 9, 1912 47 76
the same as when pastured on alfalfa.
September 10, 1912 46 74
September 11, 1912 45^ 76 I consider a splendid substitute for
it
September 12, 1912 43^4 80 green alfalfa when
fed with a small
The above is the result of a test in the amount of alfalfa hay. And I consider it
doubly valuable as a cow food on account
feeding of Burbank Spineless Cactus to a
of the fact that it can be harvested and
dairy cow, made at the H. R. Timm Dairy,
fed during the winter months when there
Dixon, Cal. The test was made during a
is no other green feed.
period of ten days to find out the real
value of cactus as a milk-producing food.
H. R. TIMM.
As the dairy herd was being fed on the State of California,
best kind of green alfalfa and alfalfa hay, County of Solano ss. —
it would hardly be expected that a cow H. R. Timm, being first duly sworn, de-
would increase in milk wherk cactus was poses and says I have read the attached
:
substituted for the green feed. On Sep- statement of facts and know the contents
tember 2, the cow was taken from the herd thereof, and desire to state that the same
and placed on a ration of cactus and bar- are true to my own knowledge, informa-
ley, and a light feed of alfalfa hay. With- tion and belief.
in four or five days she ate it without any Subscribed to and sworn to before me
grain and soon reached a gain of ten this 3rd day of December, 1912.
pounds of milk daily. H. R. TIMM.
AS FEED FOR HOGS WINFIELD R. MADDEN, Notary Pub-
lic in and for Solano County, California.
On September 13, 1912, two three
months' old pigs, weighing together 190 NOTE Mr. Timm is the president of
:
pounds, were given a feed of Burbank the First National Bank of Dixon and the
Spineless Cactus. owner of one of the largest and best cer-
The slabs in the beginning were fed to tified dairies in the West.
20
The Burbank Spineless Cactus Supplies all the
Water the Animals Need
There is the further consideration that matter of fact, some of my ranges are absolutely
devoid of springs and water, yet the cattle go
the cactus suppUes the animal with al- year after year thoroughly content with the
most all the water it needs. cactus food, from which they receive sufllclent
In Hawaii and Mexico, cattle have been water to supply all their physical needs.
known to subsist for six months on a My hogs always thrive better on a cactus
feed than when they are fed on dry feed with
cactus diet without a drop of water. water. The general physical condition of the
The following letter from Robt. Hind stock is most excellent. Some of my cattle feed
tells of his 20 years' experience in feed- on the cactus the year round, the number being
ing cactus without water: governed by the available supply. But not only
is the cactus a much sought after food by the
hogs and cattle. I have about 1000 turkeys
which subsist chiefly on cactus slabs and the
PUUWAAWAA RANCH fruit which the cactus bears in considerable
Kamuela, Hawaii, May 17, 1913. quantities. These turkeys do not get a drop
The Luther Burbank Company, of water.
Exposition Building, San Francisco, Calif. I have lost quite a few head of cattle, due
Gentlemen: I am very happy to conform to to the spines, but the number is not very great
your request for a statement from me regarding in comparison to the number of cattle that feed
my experience with the feeding of the wild upon it.
thorny cactus upon my ranches in the Island of I find that cactus is a splendid milk producer.
Hawaii, during the past twenty years. There something in the cactus that seems to
is
First of all, I wish to emphasize that all my help the flow of milk. What it is I do not
cactus-feeding experience has been with the wild know, but I do know that it has a positive
thorny cactus, the old-fashioned spiny variety, beneficial effect, other than the mere food value.
and not with the Spineless Cactus. This variety My own experience with the spiny cactus led
thrives on my ranches on the poorest soils. I me Burbank Spineless Cactus,
to investigate the
am told that it is a native Hawaiian plant, and it is my
opinion that the Burbank Spineless
or was introduced there very many years ago. Cactus is very much superior. I planted some
The only difference "between this cactus and the three years ago a number of plants of the Spine-
Burbank Spineless Cactus is the absence of the less Cactus obtained from Mr. Burbank, and they
spines on the latter. have thrived remarkably weU, but I have pre-
Cattle on my ranch have been fed on the ferred to conserve these plants for future use,
thorny cactus for as long a period as fifteen and to extend my acreage. As you know, I have
years, and have thrived on such feeding. I have just purchased a very large quantity of the
had to depend upon my cactus patches almost Burbank Spineless Cactus, and I look to this
entirely for stock feed during the dry seasons, to furnish me v/ith the means of practically
and I have found it to be unexcelled for this doubling the amount of livestock on my ranges
purpose. The very best results are obtained and to furnish them with a forage which is
when cactus is mixed with a small quantity of unexcelled. Another advantage in the cactus
dry feed, such as dry grasses, old hay, etc., but forage is that you do not have to harvest at
this is not absolutely necessary. While using any particular season, and if you so desire the
my cactus chiefly as a reserve for the major growth may accumulate year after year until
portion of my herd, I find even when I have actually needed.
a fair amount of other feed I could add spiny I should much prefer to feed cactus every day
cactus to it, and the cattle did better than if in the year, allowing the cattle to have all they
they had other feed without the cactus. I do care to eat, but, as I said before, my
great
not raise any other form of green food. concern is that my supply is limited. I consider
Perhaps the most peculiar and significant fact cactus one of the very best forages for semi-arid
concerning cactus as stock food is that it supplies or dry countries.
all the water the animals need. Horses and live- Yours very truly,
stock on my ranch, fed with spiny cactus, thrive (Signed) ROBT. HIND.
wonderfully without any water whatever, I Note. —Mr. Robert Hind
one of the largest
is
have good fat cattle that have never seen water, and most successful ranchers in the Hawaiian
and do not know how to drink it when offered Islands, controlling over 50,000 acres of land.
to them. I have other cattle which I have im- He has been engaged in raising livestock for over
ported from the United States, and which have twenty years and has several thousand head of
not tasted a drop of water since being fed on cattle, several thousand sheep and hogs and a
the cactus. They have lived for years without large number of horses. He is progressive and
water, and are as fat as any grass-fed cattle believes in blooded stock and has from time to
in the United States. They make just as good time imported the finest types of Herefords and
Ibeef as you can get in any restaurant. As a PoUed Angus cattle.
21
Burbank Cactus Leaf and Fruit
The old thorny varieties of the fruiting Most delicious jams, jellies, syrups, etc.,
cactus are too well known to need de- in enormous quantities, at a nominal cost,
scription. The fruits are the principal are made from the fruits alone or in com-
food for millions of people during three bination with other fruits, besides various
or four months each year. The fruits of foods and confections, such as Tuna
the Burbank Fruiting Cactus are greatly honey (Miel de Tuna), Tuna butter
superior to the old kinds, and can be (Melcocha), and Tuna cheese (Queso).
raised for one-tenth the cost of producing Opuntias have been used (even the
other fruits. thorny ones), for making confectionery
The fresh fruit of these improved varie- by the Mexicans and others for a long
ties is unique in form and color, exceed- time. Some of the finest candies of Mex-
ingly handsome, unusually wholesome ico are candied cacti of various forms.
(the large amount of vegetable salts they The juice from the fruits of the crimson
contain being regarded as very beneficial), varieties is used for coloring ices, jelly
and far superior to the banana in flavor. and confectionery; no more beautiful
There is never a failure in the crop, which colors can be imagined.
can be shipped as safely as the other de- For the old fruiting, Opuntias or Prickly
ciduous fruits. The can be gathered
fruit Pears, eighteen thousand pounds of fruit
and stored like apples, and some kinds per acre is found to be a common crop on
will keep in excellent condition from four the poorest soils, while on good soils the
to five months. Samples packed in or- best Burbank fruiting varieties will and
dinary packing boxes without ice, were have produced at the rate of more than
shipped to Chicago, New York, Boston one hundred thousand pounds of delicious
and Washington and kept in perfect con- fruit per acre. The fruits differ in various
dition. ways like apples, plums or peaches. By
22
Burbank Cactus in Fruit
analysis they are found to contain from mence bearing about the third year from
six to fourteen per cent sugar, besides a cuttings.
small amount of protein and fat, also The general practice to prepare the fruit
aromas and flavors. Some contain more for use is by brushing with a whisk broom
of these, some less; all desirable quali- or rubbing with a coarse cloth, then cut-
ties are grealy increased by scientific
ting a thin slice from each end through
breeding and selection for this purpose, as
the skin, then slitting from end to end
with the apple, peach, sugar beet and
other fruits, grains and vegetables.
when the skin may be readily removed,
Some of the earlier varieties ripen in leaving the solid, sweet flesh ready for
June and July, the later ones in August, use; another way is to slice through the
September, October and November and center of the fruit from end to end and
through the winter. Most of them com- remove the flesh with a spoon.
*'It can be safely said without fear of con-head of all forage plants as a stock and dairy
tradiction that the prophecies of Luther Burbankfeed in our Western arid and semi-arid States,
regarding spineless cactus axe being fully realiz-as well as poultry feed and a luscious fruit for
—
ed and that it is now taking its place at theour tables, second to none."
23
The Kind of Climate and Land Needed
for Cactus Culture
24
How to grow the Burbank Spineless Cactus
Full Cultural Directions
WHAT TO PLANT— CUTTINGS OR WHEN TO PLANT
SEEDS Cactus should never be planted, trans-
Cactus should always be raised from planted or moved during rainy winter
cuttings, never under any circumstances
weather, which is just the time to plant
from seed, as it always runs back to the
thorny kind when grown from seed, but nearly all other trees and plants. If
never when grown from cuttings. It has planted at this season they very promptly
been proved time and time again in thou- decay, especially if it happens to be cold
sands and thousands of cases that the at the same time that it is damp. The
new spineless cactus does not run back to
the thorny state any more than a Baldwin
two together are death to the cactus when
apple can change to a Ben Davis or a moved at such seasons and under such
Bartlett pear to a wild pear. conditions. The best months for planting
25
planted and not irrigated, will root in from will thrivewhere alfalfa cannot be grown.
four to six weeks, promptly, surely and Nothing can be superior to the cactus for
without fail, if properly treated. Unlike this purpose, as it improves year by year.
all other plnats, it is best that the cuttings Cactus should never be planted in the
should be v/ilted a little, though in hot shade or wet land. In some cases, where
weather t' cy will grow without wilting. there is an extreme cold spell of weather
They can be wilted in any ordinary warm the tips of the leaves will sometimes
climate if placed flat on the ground where freeze. When thus frozen all the de-
the sun docs not strike them from 11 to cayed parts should be cut away as soon
2, or any little shade which protects them as possible, and as soon as a sunny day
from the burning, fiery heat of the mid- comes the plants will heal over and no fur-
day sun. When the parts that have been ther damage will be done, while if the de-
cut in removing from the old plant have cayed portions are left on the plants a part
become dry and seared over, they may be or the whole plant may sooner or later be
planted at once, one-third under the involved with the decay.
ground and two-thirds above, either COST OF SETTING OUT SPINE-
straight up or slanting at any angle. This LESS CACTUS
is absolutely all that is necessary in plant-
_
In Europe cactus has been set out by
ing cactus. If the cuttings happen to
be a little bruised in shipping, the bruis-
hand labor, and the cost is estimated to
be about $5.00 per acre.
ed places should be cut away and during
the summer time will heal over at once.
One man can set out 1000 slabs a day
in ground previously well prepared. In a
In the winter time such bruised places
country where traction engines can be
will promptly decay.
used and large tracts set out, the cost
PREPARING THE GROUND would not exceed $5.00 per acre.
Any kind of soil will do for the cactus, CULTIVATION
though as with all other plants, the better
Cultivation during the first season or
it is the better they will grow. The
ground should be plowed and harrowed two is of advantage to cactus, especially
and allowed to become quite dry on the on dry ground. Irrigation is barely per-
missible after they get a good start, but
surface before the cuttings are planted.
not until they are well rooted. Cactus will
In planting the cutting, it is well to dig
thrive with one tenth the water which al-
out all moist earth with a trowel or spade,
falfa requires.
and to have dry dirt around the lower part
of the cuttings, as they root much quicker WHEN TO HARVEST
in dry dirt than in moist, strange as it may One of the principal features of the
appear. Many failures of cactus cuttings cactus that they can be allowed to grow
is
have been caused by planting in too damp year after year until needed in a dry sea-
soil, or irrigating too soon after they are son, or in case of a shortage of feed, then
planted. In planting for forage it is well can be harvested by the wholesale. On
to make double rows three feet apart, and good land more tons of it can be obtained
these doubly rows should be about ten per acre than on five to ten acres of other
or twelve feet apart and in these double forage. In harvesting for ordinary, reg-
rows' the cactus should be planted alter- ular feeding, it is well to cut off the top
nately, as in this way they help to hold and side leaves with a long knife, hatchet
each other up better and have more room or other tool, and feed to the stock as
to grow, especially while young. Cactus needed. It may be fed at any season of
may be planted on hillsides in very hot the year without regard to season sum-—
climates on the north sides. They thrive mer or winter, spring or fall.
best on the south sides in cold climates. YIELD
The cactus is especially valuable as an The yield of the cactus depends greatly
adjunct to alfalfa, as it will grow on ordi- upon the variety. The common wild cac-
nary land with a very small amount of tus yield all the way from five to twenty
water, where alfalfa would be sure to die tons per acre the third year. Some of the
out. Under such conditions, the cactus new ones will yield ten or even more times
26
SHOWING METHOD OF PLANTING CACTUS
Double Rows —Twelve Feet Apart, With Cuttings Spaced in Three-Foot Squares in the Double
Rows. By This Method a Wagon Will Reach Four Single Rows in
Gathering the Cactus for Feed.
as much. The first season, if cuttings are particularly valuable for growing animals
set out early in the season, say June, each and for milch cows, as
it increases the
should make, according to variety, five to quantity and improves the flavor of milk
ten or fifteen new cuttings. The second at once. But cactus, like almost all other
season twice as many
and the as that, food, requires other food with it. It is
third season three times as many. The quite succulent and moist, and some dry
cuttings may be replanted as soon as they alfalfa or other hay is excellent, or a little
are hard and thoroughly ripened. oil meal, bran or even dry weeds. It has
the same effect on cattle or growing ani-
HOW TO FEED TO LIVE STOCK mals as green feed of any kind, but does
Cattle or any kind
horned stock are
of not bloat animals like alfalfa.
especially fond of the cactus, but as with HARVEST
all other new feeds, some refuse at first, There no occasion to harvest the cac-
is
27
HARVESTING CACTUS
The Crop Has Been Cut From Plants in Foreground, Which Will Immediately Start a New
Growth, Crop After Crop Thus Being Produced Indefinitely From the Original Plant.
be turned loose in the cactus patch; no rieties continue to bear throughout the
one would turn stock into a beet or pump- winter and spring, in fact, throughout the
kin patch, as they would injure the plants. entire year.
They would also injure cactus plants, for
they would greedily eat their tops, stems,
roots and branches.
HOW TO PREPARE AND EAT THE
FRUIT
FRUITING CACTUS
Do not handle with the bare hands.
Fruiting cactus is planted just the same Take each fruit on a fork and with a sharp
as forage cactus, except that it should be knife cut off both ends, and, still holding
planted a little wider apart, as they grow the fruit by the fork, cut through the peel
to an enormous size and live to a great avoiding the little bundles of bristles then
;
age, and it is well to keep them pruned with the knife push the peel from the oval-
low. They will spread so that if planted shaped mass of pulp within. Cactus fruit
three feet apart in the narrow rows and 13 very wholesome and nourishing and can
twelve feet apart in the wide rows they be eaten in great quantities with benefit.
can be harvested most conveniently. The The seeds are to be swallowed as with to-
fruit is at its best during September, Oc- matoes. The fruit is much more delic-
tober and November, though some va- ious when cold.
28
House of Representatives, United States culture, was several years ago moved to take up
Part of Cong. Record the matter of securing spineless cactus. Experts
were sent to foreign countries, and the world
LUTHER BURBANK AND HIS WORK was searched that a cactus might be found spine-
less, or nearly spineless, which would have suffi-
From the Speech of cient nutriment to be valuable as a cattle fodder.
Hon. Everis A. Hayes
From the plants so collected the Department of
of California
Agriculture has been able to produce a cactus
In the House of Representatives
suflftciently free from spines and nutritive
SPINELESS CACTUS enough to be of some value for the cattle busi-
ness. But today, in spite of all its organization
No more important thing has recently occurred and its wealth, the Department of Agriculture
in agriculture than the successful production of has not obtained a cactus that is in any res-^ect
the rapid-growing, edible sr)ineless cactus hy Lu- the equal of the cactus produced by Mr. Burbank
ther Burbank. After sixteen years of expensive single-handed.
and costly experimentation he has produced a new Of all stock food, the Burbank improved spine-
and most valuable cattle food for the world. Mr. less cactus is by far themost rrolific.
Burbank does not claim to have discovered the any soil where the tem-
It is adapted to almost
spineless cactus. Some varieties of this plant perature does not go below 18 dearrees above zero,
have been known for years, but without excep- and it will stand a great amount of heat.
tion they have been non-edible by any animal. Cactus is the onlv fo'lder that furnishes green,
For many years it has been the custom in Africa, succulent feed all t^e year.
as well as in those parts of America where it
Another source of arveat v"lu«» the Burbank
abounds, to feed to cattle certain varieties of
imnroved spinelpss cac^-us is its fruit. It is a fall
the prickly pear cactus after the seines h^ve
been burned off. This burning, of course, greatlv
and winter fvwt of attractive colors crimson, —
scarlet, yellow, white and variegated. It is a sure
increases the cost of fodder. The food value of
bearer; a good porker and shipper; very health-
this spiney cactus for stock has been known by
ful, and of a flavor which manv prefer to that
cattlemen, who have gtown and used it for same
of bananas or fisrs. It contains 8 per cent to 16
years.
per cent of susrar: is a gre^t fat^-ener for hogs
Mr. William Sinclair, a successful cattle grower
and cattle. Poultry a^so is extremely fond of it.
of Texas, writes:
These make fine iell^'es. iams and srlace fruits,
"We find it very poor laolicy to put the slight- and can be used for coloring ices, jellies, confec-
est limit on the amount of cactus our cows get.
tionery, and so forth.
The more they can eat the better they f^rive and
the more milk they give. There is nothing that In an exnerimental way, from the Burbank im-
sets them back more than a shortage of cactus. proved spineless cactus, raner r-ulp and wood al-
If we happen to be short of milk the cause is cohol have been produced. But the greatest
almost invariably traced to the shortage of! value of Burbank improved snineless cactus will
cactus." be that it will make highly r>roductive and valu-
The following table shows the comnarptive able vast tracts of landnow barren because of
value of the average cacti, alf^^lfa, hay and gam- not only in Southern Cali-
insufficient rainfall,
ma, a tsrpical range grass, according to analyses fornia and Arizona, the natural home of the
made by the University of Arizona agricultural cactus, but also in South America, Australia,
experimental station: India, Egypt and elsewhere.
In Water-Free Substance For example, on the west side of the San
Cactus Joaauin Vailey are large tracts of land prac-
without Alfalfa Gamma tically bare and worth but $10 or $15 per acre.
fruit hay grass The annual rainfall is about five or six inches
Ash 19.91 5.67 15.11 —making the land semi-arid. On this soil, with-
6.48 3 2.74 6.99 out irrigation, produced enough, with a few
is
Fiber 10.22 39.04 30.31 pounds of chonped straw, bran or other rousrh-
Nitro free extract. 61.48
. 41.06 45.63 age, to keep four cows per acre all the year. This
Ether 1.83 1.49 1.96 same land, when so situated that it can be irri-
The great desirability of the rap^d growing gated and planted to alfalfa, keerjs about one
and edible snineless cactus for cattle food has cow per acre annually and is now selling for $200
been recognized all over the world. Insnired by per acre. In other words, Burbank improved
the work of Mr. Burbank and by the experiments spineless cactus will give $15-an-acre land a
made by the French Government in Algiers, the greater earning power than alfalfa on $200-an-
United States, through the Department of Agri- acre land.
29
Special Information
The best of these improved Spinelesss Stock can be turned loose among the
Opuntias when grown under favorable cactus, after the plants have reached an
conditions on good soil in a warm cli- age of three years, as the main stem be-
mate may confidently be expected to pro- comes woody and can not be injured. On
duce an average of nearly or quite fifty the removal of the stock from the cactus
to one hundred tons of feed per acre when plant pasture, new leaves or slabs rapidly
once established, each season. appear, and in a short time has as much
So much has been written about the feed as it had originally.
offered for sale by dishonest parties for object, and the thorny and bristly
least
six years or more, not only in America, leaves if a plantation is to be produced for
but also in Europe, Africa and Australia. forage; even some of the partially spiny
In producing these new Opuntais more ones may be made less so by careful se-
than seventeen years and much thought, lection of cuttings, but this labor is wholly
labor and capital have been expended, useless since the new Burbank varieties
31
: —
"I look to great practical results from "Mr. Burbank is a man who does things
Burbank's work among plants." —Thomas that are of much benefit to mankind, and
A. Edison. we should do all in our power to help
"No other man has given to horticul- ciating both the man and his work." —
ture so many valuable things as has Lu- Congressman E. A. Hayes.
ther Burbank." —Prof. E. J. Wickson,
Dean of the Department of Agriculture of
the University of California.
"To Luther Burbank has been granted
the knowledge, supreme beyond other
"He stands easily at the head of the men, of the susceptibility of plants to vary
world's experimentalists in plant life." under the influence of new environments,
W. Atlee Burpee, of Philadelphia, one of
delicate manipulation and intelligent di-
the leading seedmen in the United States.
By Dr. L. H. Bailey, professor of bot-
rection." — Scientific American.
any in Cornell University, New York:
"The man who always does most says
"It is an honor to California that Lu- Your good works will bless hu-
the least.
ther Burbank is its citizen. He is all that
manity long after you have said 'Good
he has ever been said to be, and more." night.' Your work is always a source of
inspiration to me, and I am continuously
Joaquin Miller, the Poet of the Sierras, wondering 'What will he accomplish
said
next?' "—Col. G. B. Brackett, Pomological
"I like to go to Santa Rosa, the home Chief U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Wash-
of Luther Burbank, the man who is help-
ington, D. C.
ing God make the earth more beautiful."
"In all Europe there is no one who can "While I have long been impressed
even compare with Luther Burbank. The with your work, I am now overwhelmed
time will come when he will be as well with the vast amount of good which you
known and as highly cherished in Cali- have been able to accomplish. I respect
fornia as he now^ is among the scientific your work above all that has ever been
men of Europe. He is a unique, great —
done for horticulture." Prof. Wm. B.
genius." — Hugo De Vries, of Amsterdam, Alwood, Virginia College and Experiment
Holland, the leading botanist of Europe. Station.
32
PRICE LIST AND ORDER BLANK
Burbank's Spineless Cactus
The Luther Burbank Company
San Francisco, California
FOR FORAGE FOR FRUIT
CUTTINGS CUTTINGS
Each Ten 100
Ship.
State when to ship
FOR FORAGE
Number of Cuttings Price
FOR FRUIT
Yellow Fruit..
Crimson Fruit $.
Enclosed find.
State mhether check, draft or money order
(County)
If shipping destination and Post Office are different, give Post Office
Address below.
NONE
GENUINE
WITHOUT SEAL
All plants and cuttings lightly and carefully packed with No charges for
boxes or packing. Freight or Express Charges to he paid by the purchaser.
No cuttings sent hy mail.
All orders must be accompanied by the purchase price.
The right is reserved to reject any order.
TRADE MARK See last page of Catalogue for shipping information.
THIS SEAL GUARANTEES Orders for future delivery be accepted,
will if accompanied by a cash
A GENUINE
LUTHER BURBANK deposit of 25 per cent of the total purchase price.
PRODUCTION So
How to Order
Wherever it is possible to do so, use the order blank.
Fill out all the information that the blank spaces call for.
OUR GUARANTEE.
Weguarantee the seeds, plants or trees sold by this company
true to name, and will replace any that may prove otherwise through
a possible error, or will refund the original purchase price. Our
upon any article sold is limited to the amount of the original
liability
purchase price, and all sales are made with this understanding.
less trees or plants under the name and reputation of good ones has been,
and is now being carried on persistently and systematically by several parties
who victimize those who deal with them by trading on the reputations of reliable
It should be the duty and privilege of every good citizen to aid in exposing
and routing all who are obtaining money under these false pretenses.
Having been in business almost forty years, millions of trees and plants
raised in my establishment are now bearing fruit, not only in the Western United
States, but everywhere on earth where the sun shines and trees can be grown.
Does this forty years' record of just dealing mean anything, and is it surprising
that such a reputation should be worth trading on? Counterfeit coins are not