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It may be mentioned here that an American naturalist has recently suggested that the object of these iron-like spines on the stems of many Cactuses, and more especially on the majority of the Hedgehog kinds, is not so much to defend the fleshy stems from browsing animals as to afford protection from the scorching rays of the sun, which would otherwise cause the stems to blister and shrivel; and the nature of the spiny covering of E. echidne seems to support such a view.
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