526 Domestic Notices : — England. 



subject, we are assured that, even in its native countrj', this singular plant 

 seldom exceeds in beauty and grandeur the specimen now flourishing in our 

 immediate neighbourhood. To many of our readers, the following brief de- 

 scription of this noble plant may be acceptable. Agave americana, or the 

 American aloe, is a plant which, when full grown, has a short cylindrical 

 woody stem, which is terminated by hard, fleshy, spiny, sharp-pointed, bluish 

 green leaves, about 6 ft. long, and altogether resembling those of the arbo- 

 rescent aloes. Each of these leaves will continue to exist for many years, so 

 that but a small number have withered away by the time the plant has ac- 

 quired its full maturitj'. It is commonly supposed that this occurs only at 

 the end of 100 years : but this, like many other popular opinions, is an error ; 

 the period at which the agave arrives at maturity varying, according to cir- 

 cumstances, from ten to fiftj', or even seventy years. In hot or otherwise 

 favourable climates, it grows rapidly, and soon arrives at the term of its 

 existence ; but in colder regions, or under the care of the gardener, where it is 

 frequently impracticable to attend to all the circumstances that accelerate its 

 developement, it requires the longest period that has been assigned to it. 

 Having attained its full growth, it finally produces its gigantic flower-stem, 

 after which it perishes. This stem sometimes is as much as 40 ft. high, 

 and is surrounded by a multitude of branches, arranged in a pyramidical form, 

 with perfect symmetry, and having on their points clusters of greenish yellow 

 flowers, which continue to be produced for two or three months in succession. 

 The native country of the American aloe is the whole of America within the 

 tropics ; from the plains nearly on a level with the sea, to stations upon the 

 mountains at an elevation of between 9,000 ft. and 10,000 ft. From these re- 

 gions it has been transferred to almost every other temperate country; and in 

 Italy, Sicily, and Spain, it has ah-eady combined with the date and the palmetto 

 to give a tropical appearance to European scenery. Independently of its 

 beauty and curiosity, this plant is applicable to many useful purposes. Its sap 

 may be made to flow by incisions in the stem, and furnishes a fermented liquor, 

 called by the Mexicans /je/Z^zic; from this an agreeable ardent spirit, called vino 

 mercal, is distilled. The fibres of its leaves form a coarse kind of thread ; tlie 

 dried flowering stems are an almost imperishable thatch ; an extract from the 

 leaves is made into balls, which will lather water like soap ; the fresh leaves 

 themselves, cut into slices, are occasionally given to cattle ; and finally, the 

 centre of the flowering stem, split longitudinally, is by no means a bad substi- 

 tute for a European razor-strop, owing to minute particles of silica forming 

 one of its constituents. Mr. Phelps, the gardener at Ham Green, having had 

 the care of the exceedingly rare collection of exotics naturalised in those most 

 interesting grounds, is proud of his trust, and especially of the great aloe, 

 which has been attended to with the nicest care and science. The roof of the 

 hot-house has been partially removed, and a structure of framework glazed, 

 adapted to the growing necessity of the colossal flower-stem ; a stage has been 

 erected, and steps formed, so that the observer can open a slide, and look 

 down upon the whole plant. From Mr. Phelps we understand that the family 

 can trace the great aloe for ninety-eight years, a singular corroboration of the 

 generally received opinion as to its centenary existence. The flower-stem is 

 at present 23 ft. high, with twenty-seven branches, on which there are upwards 

 oi three thousand blossoms. The last of these plants which flowered in this 

 country was at Brislington ; and so powerful was the attraction, that visitors 

 came from a distance of fifty miles to obtain a sight of it. {Bath Chronicle, 

 July 29. 1841.) 



Immense Mushroom. — On Monday last Mr. Edward Kirby of Chettisham, 

 near Ely, cut a mushroom of the following extraordinary size : — circum- 

 ference, 5 ft. 3 in. ; diameter, 1 ft. 6 in. ; stalk, 14 inches round. It weighed 

 4 lbs., and produced one quart and half a pint of catsup. {Cambridge Chrofiic/c 

 andJournal, July 24. 1841.) 



