34 



was still living, but the fibrous roots were dry, and were scorched 

 off with the assistance of some rubbish. The trunk itself showed 

 no noticeable shrinkage or desiccation. 



In May, 1902, it was observed to be putting forth a flowering 

 scape. The plant had now lain for two years on the dry ground 

 without any radical connection with it, and, consequently, with- 

 out receiving any nutriment or water. The growth of the scape 

 was rapid, averaging in its early period six inches a day. As the 

 trunk lay on its side the scape necessarily turned upwards at right 

 angles, and it was maintained in an upright position by means of 

 guy wires. Eventually it attained a height of about fifteen feet, 

 flowered freely and produced fruit. The illustration is from a 

 photograph taken August 15, 1902. 



In November, of the same year, the energy of the plant being 

 still unexhausted, it produced three small scapes from near the 

 base of the crown, the largest of which was about eighteen inches 

 high. These also flowered. 



Mr. E. A. Zumbro, of the Riverside High School, informs me 

 that, in another case, he knew of an agave which flowered after it 

 had been dug up and had lain on hard ground "a long time." 



It is frequently the custom here in California, as an agave 

 grows large, to keep all but its uppermost leaves pruned off; and 

 such plants flower vigorously. The nutriment which agaves 

 store up preparatory to inflorescence is deposited mainly in the 

 crown and in the leaf-bases, so that the removal of the leaves 

 themselves affects the plant only to a limited degree. The dry- 

 ing of the sap on the cut surfaces seems to seal them up so as to 

 prevent much evaporation. 



For the greatest part, it is upon this accumulated nutriment 

 that an agave draws for the rapid development that characterizes 

 its reproductive period. The supplies directly contributed by the 

 root system at this time must be comparatively insignificant. We 

 are not surprised at seeing agaves flowering freely in the sterile 

 and arid soil of the deserts, where, at the time, their roots can 

 find little, if any, moisture — must, in fact, serve mainly as mere 

 holdfasts. 



It is but a step further to find a plant accomplishing its repro- 



