CACTUS, the common name for all mem bers of the family Cactacea', a group of dicoty ledons, found in luxuriance in the arid sections of North and South America. Like the water melon, they have the faculty of absorbing a vast bulk of water, making the stems most suc culent.
The economic uses of the cacti are many, especially among primitive peoples. One or two species of the genus Ankalonium yield alkaloids which are used in medicine and which were known and used to produce intoxication by the Indians before the advent of the whites, and are still so used to a limited extent. The peculiar reticulations of the vascular or wood systems of many species render them very use ful in the manufacture of art goods, otherwise known as curios in many sections. The vari ous species are of most importance as articles of food for man and beast. In the semi-tropi cal and tropical regions of America a large group of the plants belonging to the genus Cereus and its allies furnish edible fruits known to the Spanish-American as pitahayas. These grow for the most part on tall, branching and columnar plants, similar to the familiar giant cactus (Cereus giganteus) of the Arizona desert. These fruits vary in size from three fourths of an inch to two inches in diameter, depending upon the species. Along the Texas frontier forms grow which are known as Mexi can strawberries to the English-speaking peo ples.
By far the greater part of the fruit produced by this family of plants comes from the flat jointed prickly pears belonging to the genus Opuntia, the fruits of which are known in Spanish America as tunas. Some of these are extensively cultivated throughout the highland region of Mexico as well as in the Mediter ranean region of Europe, Asia and Africa. Prickly pears, although natives of the American continent and its continental islands, are now cultivated or have become naturalized through out the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The fruits are eaten raw, dried, and
in the form of preserves. Their juices are also expressed and fermented into a drink called colonche. It is less common now than formerly to find a distilled drink made from the tuna because of the deleterious effects of tuna alcohol.
On account of their ability to absorb and re tain large quantities of water, the cacti, espe cially the prickly pears, often become important to the stockmen in portions of our southwestern States. They remain green and succulent after other forage has dried up or become exhausted. The rancher then resorts to this rough feed to save his stock. He may singe the thorns off with a brush or, if his herds are large, he may singe them with a modified plumber's torch, or he may even chop the plants into small pieces and feed them in this way.
It is a common practice in southwestern Texas to feed prickly pear and cottonseed meal to stock during the winter. In the vicinity of San Antonio dairymen for a number of years have fed prickly pear to their dairy cows along with a liberal supply of grain and hay. Prickly pears furnish the succulence so essential in milk production and so difficult to obtain in a semi arid region.
When driven to extremity travelers in the desert have been known to resort to these plants for water supply. The pulpy tissues, prefer ably of such forms as the barrel cactus (Echinocatus), are macerated to set the juices free. A rather unpalatable and somewhat pur gative drink is thus obtained which relieves thirst in a measure. The candied flesh of the barrel cactus forms a palatable sweetmeat The flowers and stems of the night-blooming cereus (Cereus grandiflorus) have been used in medicine, in the form of a fluid extract, as a cardiac stimulant. Its action resembles that of digitalis, but is less uniform.