38 



FLOWERS. 



opportunity of witnessing so beautiful a spectacle if 

 of rare occurrence, it is regarded as a great curiosity 



A noble speci 

 men, probably So 

 or 90 years of age, 

 recently bloomed 

 in Philadelphia 

 About the middle 

 of the summer of 

 1858, the stem 

 made its appear- 

 ance, and in six 

 weeks' time it had 

 reached the height 

 of about twenty 

 feet, being seven 

 inches in diameter 

 at the base, and 

 crowned with sev- 

 enteen fascicles of 

 greenish yellow 

 flowers, number- 

 ing in all about 



3000, and spreading over a space of nearly eighteen 

 feet in circumference. 



In Mexico, the West Indies, and South America, 

 where several varieties of this plant are found, it is 

 often cultivated by the natives, and its different parts 

 appropriated to useful purposes. It may frequently be 

 seen planted in long rows, which serve as hedges, and 

 form an impervious barrier both to man and beast. 



