ALOE. RICE. 89 



MOTHER. 



Yes ; and it is also used in salad. In France 

 another species, Ru'mex scuta'tus, French sorrel, 

 is cultivated for the table. 



I must not forget the Aloe, which was first intro- 

 duced into Europe from America in the year 1561, 

 and is now planted for hedges in Spain, Sicily, 

 and Calabria. 



It is a common opinion that this plant blossoms 

 only once in one hundred years ; but the time of its 

 flowering depends on the quickness of its growth : 

 so that in hot countries, where it grows fast, it 

 blossoms after a few years, but in colder climates 

 it is much longer before even the stem shoots up. 

 When vigorous, it grows to the height of more 

 than twenty feet. 



The tallest aloe of which there is any account, 

 was in the King of Prussia's garden, and grew to 

 forty feet high. In another plant, which flou- 

 rished in Cheshire, in the year 1737, the stem began 

 to appear in June, and grew five inches a day for 

 some weeks; the flower branches were perfected in 

 twelve weeks, and then ceased to grow for a month, 

 while the buds were forming. This plant produced 

 one thousand and fifty flowers ; but one that 

 blossomed at Leyden, in 1760, produced more 

 than four thousand. 



The Rice-plant, Ory'za, is in the order Digynia 

 of this class ; but it has the form and structure of 

 the grasses, and differs from them only in the num- 



