A selection from:
Sun, Sand and Solitude
— By Randall Henderson
Here’s a solution for those who are appalled at the thought of mastering all those tongue-twisting names the scientists have
given the various species of cactus which grow on the desert. George Wharton James offers an answer in his book Wonders of the Colorado Desert. James said he once asked an old desert prospector how many varieties of cacti he was familiar with.
Stick you cactus
“By gosh,” said the prospector. “You city fellers have no idea how many kinds we got. I know every one of ‘em. There’s the “Full of Stickers, All Stickers, Never Fail Stickers, Stick Everybody, Stick and Stay In, Sharp Stickers, Extra Sharp Stickers, Big Stickers, Little Stickers, Stick While You Sleep, Stick While You Wait, Stick ’Em Alive, Stick ’Em Dead, Stick Unexpectedly, Stick anyway, Stick In And Never Come Out, Stick Through Leather, Stick Through Anything, Stick & Fester, Barbed Fishhook Cactus, Rattlesnake Fangs Cactus, Impartial Cactus, Democratic Cactus, The Deep Sticker, and a few others.”