Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/540

 534 CACTUS CADAHALSO test parts of America ; it appears like a green melon, with deep ribs, set all over with sharp thorns, and was likened by Linntcus to a hedgehog; it has on the top a small discoid, villous cap, from which the flowers grow in a circle ; it attains the height of four or live feet in the West Indies, and has been brought to more than half this size in England ; in times of drought they are ripped up by the cattle and their moist internal part greedily devoured. The C. grandiflorus is remarkable for its large, beautiful, sweet-scented flowers, which begin to open in the evening, and close again for Cactus Opuntia. ever before morning; the calyx, nearly one foot in diameter, is of a splendid yellow, en- closing pure white petals, and the flower du- ring the five or six hours of its continuance is hardly surpassed in beauty; its structure is such that in cultivation it may be trained against a wall. The 0. flagelliformw is a more Cactus tuna. delicate species than the preceding, with a great- er number of smaller pink flowers, which keep open three or four days; its slender trailing branches require support. The G. Opuntia, prickly pear, or Indian fig, derives its name Cactus cochinillifer. from Opus, in Greece, where it was indigenous, although, like the others, a native of America ; it also grows wild in Italy, and flourishes in the lava at the foot of Mount Etna ; it is cultivated in England and America for its fruit. The C. tuna, is used for hedging ; three rows of it were planted as a boundary when the island of St. Christopher was divided between the English and the French. The 0. cochinillifer is the chief nourishment of the cochineal insect ; the delicate red juice of the fruit imparts a tinge to the urine. All the species of cactus are best cultivated in a sandy loam mixed with brick rubbish. CACCS, a giant, said to have been the son of Vulcan, and represented by the classic poets as a monster who continually vomited forth fire and smoke. He dwelt in a cave on Mount Aventine, and was the terror of the inhabi- tants of the surrounding country, whose cattle he stole and dragged backward into his den, so that his cave could not be discovered by their tracks. Having stolen from Hercules some of the cattle of Geryon, he was slain by that hero. The story is told by Livy and Virgil. I VI) AH.VI.SO. or Cadalso, Jose de, a Spanish au- thor, born in Cadiz, Oct. 8, 1741, died at Gibral- tar, Feb. 27, 1782. He entered the army, dis- tinguished himself in the war against Portugal, and afterward devoted himself to science and literature, and encouraged the literary efforts of Jovellanos and Melendez Valdes. War hav- ing broken out with England, he joined the army which invested Gibraltar, was promoted to the rank of colonel, and was killed by a shell. He wrote a tragedy, Sancho Garcia, which was published in 1771 under the name of Juan del