AGAPANTHUS 



andwhhe-flJ.), 

 variegated-Ivd. 

 g&tii8 ; var. LelchtUnii, a compact-trussed blue form ; 

 and others. L, H. B. 



AGAKICUS. a frenus of fleshy fungi, considered under 



AGATHffiA. 



Fell 



AGATHISlnr/'i/Ais, glome, the fls. m clusters). Tender 

 Australian (ouiteis, allud to Araxicaiia, ueldmg Dam- 

 mar resm Cones axillar) , globular or short 



robfista, Hook. {Ddmmnia loliUtu, C Moore). 

 Branches somewhat vertmllate, horizontal hs broad, 

 o% al lanceolate, obtuse trtt reaching 130 feet in Austral. 

 -Cult in Calit 



.- / 



45 Agave Americana as 



\ 



ly grown in greenhouses 



~\^ AGAVE {Greek agauai, admirable) Amaiyllid&eew 

 Important decorative and economic plants from hot 

 American deserts the most familiar of which is A 

 Ameticana the American Centory Plant &t short 

 or T;\antint^ hs mostly m a close rosette raostU stiff 

 and more oi less fleshy pel i t i fr i \ i t ^ ii tl e 

 margins mostly armed with t 1 1 tl ] ( | ] i 



with a more or less pun^ t | I | 1 



panicles, perianth 6 part 1 i It I 1 I i 



stamens fa mosth Icngtx 1 11 it 



nor 3 cell 111 11 I i 



black ^ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 



casionill 1 1 I I 1 II 



number t | 1 it 1 111 1 i il ii > 



have been descriU 1 One ot the lir.,cst c Ikiti ns is 

 at Kew wnere there arc 8o named species The largest 

 collections in the United States aie at the Botanic il 

 Garden of Washington and the Miss uii Botininl f ii 

 d n I t ire about 7o spe ] 1 \ 



r iiater nurabei it [ 



lut Aga\ es ai 

 ts This noble 

 1 I I attention it des i 1 



nus t 1 1 1 ts m America furnishes i n \ i t 1 I 

 decorative plants Sir Joseph Hooker places it next 1 1 

 the palm and aloe but the tormer is a gieat f iinil> cf 

 1 11)0 s] 1 s While m the United St it \ tl ii k it 

 tl \ 1 IS decciatne fl I 



tl they aie the n 



M ish flier oth 1 II 



1 1 two great Mt\ 



In h IS ifeiu,-! I I I 



1 I 1 s espcciUlj A d, i , 



^l i 11 1 drink IS usualh net ob 



1 Kb as Pulque althou,i:h there 



1 1 t 1 tl contrarj The species from 



whi hi ml 111 st cf the Mescal used in Mexico is 



unknown The species vary so much in size and form 



that they can be used m a gieat many wd\ s home ot 



the smaller species are suitable for the house and even 



some of the 1 ir^er species are so used The laiger spe 



cies are well ad ipted for vases m large gardens and 



grounds along walks terraces etc These plants com 



ing as they do trom arnl or even desert regions, where 



AGAVE del 



they have a hard struggle to exist, can be grown with 

 little or no care, but they respond very tiuickly to good 

 treatment. The species are propagated in various ways ; 

 some produce suckers at the base or even underground 

 shoots ; others give off buds from the stem, which fall 

 off and take root, or may be detached and planted ; 

 while not a few produce bulblets in the flower-clusters, 

 and sometimes in great abundance, while all may be 

 produced from seed. But as most of the species flower 

 only after a long interval, and many have not yet been 

 known to flower in cultivation, this latter means of 

 propagation can not be relied upon. In cultivation, 

 fruit is set very sparingly or not at all without artificial 

 pollination, although this can be accomplished with 

 very little trouble. Monograph by J. G. Baker, Ama- 

 ryllideas, 1888. j. n. Rose. 



None of the Agaves are at all difficult to grow. The 

 soil should be principally loam and sand, and if any vege- 

 table soil be given it should be in small quantities. Good 

 drainage and firm potting are necessary. To grow small 

 plants of the large-leaved kinds into good-sized specimens 

 quickly, they should be plunged out in a sunny spot in 

 spring, taking care that the pots are large enough so that 

 they will not require repotting in the fall. Nearly all of 

 the large-growing kinds are easily increased from suck- 

 ers, which, when the plants are grown in a pot-bound con- 

 dition, are produced very readily. They should only be 

 taken off from the parent phmt wlu-n furnished with suf- 

 ficient roots to give them :i st;irt. Seine kinds are raised 

 only from seeds, which, w In-n Irishly .i;:itlierecl, germinate 

 in k few weeks. ^ult.' by G. W. Oliver. 



The classification of the Agaves is a veiy difficult one. 

 riiis IS partially owing to the great number of species, 



t the difficult\ of preserM ' " 



lutrc |i n X tfl w( ring in 



usal 



■ stud\ material, and to the 



although 



the nic 



su li an arrangement is 

 !sb artifacial it is certamlj 

 satisfactory in naming a 

 ill ticn From a botanical point 

 f Mew howe\er the inflorescence 

 1 \s the true relitionship of the 

 I s In this w a\ the genus is 

 1 Ilv dnided into three groups oi 

 ibt,enera These are First, the 

 jbi( igaie, having a paniculate m 

 florescence, with candelabra like 

 branches Second, the Littcea hav 

 ing a dense spike of fiowers (The 



by%M 



JO Amer 



6is 27 angusitfoha 3 ap 



tenuata 11 Biauminei 28 



Botteu 29 brachystachj s uower 



40 taudilabrum 3 Celsii 



31 coarcta?a, 5, cochlearis b dasjiirioides, 36 , densi- 



flora i' Dcserti 10 echucides 34 Elemeet ana 20; 



en t i tit 1 1 „(miniflora lb Gilbeyi, 



2( / 11 1 till 2^ h rrida 26; 



litl 11 s !v hii 27 lat fbima, 5 ; 



Lech 11 / / niacracaiitha 8 , macu- 



