The Cactus Humanus, Methodically, Viz.; Inductively & Deductively, Treated, Analyzed & Illustrated by Albigraecus Cacatus Pedo

THE CACTUS HUMANUS, METHODICALLY, VIZ.; INDUCTIVELY & DEDUCTIVELY, TREATED, ANALYZED, & ILLUSTRATED, BY ALBIGRAECUS CACATUS PEDO, TRANSLATED FROM THE LATIN MS., FREELY ANNOTATED, & PROVIDED WITH AN ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION AND APPENDIX, BY BEAUMONT & FLETCHERAn eccentric piece of 19th century scholarly humor from Reading, PA. (1875). The author, using the pseudonym of "Beaumont & Fletcher," purports to present a scholarly English translation of a rare latin medieval MS by Albigraecus Cacatus Pedo (Dog-Turd Shit-Foot), on the many shapes, varieties, and life-histories of the Cactus Humanus, or human turd. Using the language of nineteenth-century scholarly botanical treatises the author delineates the taxonomy of various Cactus species, including sub-species and local variations. Throughout, the text is peppered with multilingual puns, broad double entendres and pseudo scholarly references to imaginary works by both real and non-existent authors.