I i a at E APENA. i 
203 
by means of material collected many years ago, and now available at 
this establishment. Some specimens of a stiff fibre and brushes in the. 
Kew museums were received from Dr. Parry in 1879, and said to be 
derived from Agave Lechuguilla. Dr. Parry wrote the phige 
to Torr rA ’s Botany of the Mexican Boundary, which was published i 
1858, and he states on page 11, speaking of the vegetation of cs 
oer. formation, “ Upon the rocky ledges a small species of Agave 
“ grows in abundance. The low sea which are pointen with sharp 
= « spines, are very troublesome to the foot traveller; they are, however, 
of some use to the Mexicans, who employ the eae. i hey 
“contain in making om oe The plant is known to the people 
“ of the scree as “Le cha. 
According to To orrey, A Oe ibid y of Mexican Boundary Survey; 
p. 213, it appears there is a distinct species of Agave of this name 
[Agave Lechuguilla, ns and *“ the fibres of the leaves are used 
“for maki oarse rope, bagging, &c.” This species, by Baker, in 
Gardeners’ Chronicle, Vol. VIL. (new series), p. 527, is placed under 
esau Poselger il, Salmdy ck. Engelmann, on the other hand, looked 
n Poselgerii and A. Lechuguilla as identical m r ipt 
hater acantha, Zucc., an described them under that.name ome 
look upon Agave Lechuguilla, Torrey, A. Poselyerii, rere 
ea A. heter EE a Zucc., as synonymous names representing = 
and the same plant; and of these Agave heteracantha, » ha 
priority as regards date, being published nearly fifty. years ago. 
It would appear, therefore; that Parry’s specimens of ore and 
samples of brushes made from it were derived from Agave heteracantha, 
Zucc., the local name of which is Lechuguilla. This name is, however, 
eans restricted to this species. Sereno Watson (Proceedings of 
the American Seoul y, Vol. XI., p. 16) mentions “ Lechuguilla” or 
“ Lechigilla the native name of Agave guttata- and A. variegata. 
These latter Be species belonging to quite another group, and as 
different as possible from A. heteracantha. ee is very probable, there- 
TE, that by name Lechuguilla, re Kerrato in the West Indies, 
a wide stretch of usage in certain paris of Masis and the United 
Pn and that it is applied indiscriminately to various species. of 
at Kew a very large collection of living Agaves in shik 
are represented most of the species gate concern 
n7 the cou s of Messrs. Death and Ellwood, Engineers, Leicester, 
have been enabled to extract fibre from the leaves of Aga 
hes ‘acantha, eg, A. xylacantha, Salmdyck; A. horrida, Lemaire ; 
A. Kerchovei, Lemaire; A. lo ophantha, ‘Bclifede : A. ss 
Haworth; and A. multilineata, Baker. All these yield a c 
somewhat rigid fibre, but the fibre of A. heter acantha, allowing for the 
age of the plant, comes neare est to the commercial fibre known in 1 Londo n 
-as Mexican fibre o 
All these species, it may be mentioned, belong ee a distinct set of 
Agaves, the leaves of which are charaterized by a continuous horny 
n the top 
“ distinct horny béardor. of the ane aiir as the tee 
~ 
ntioned here hat Baker desc: as = heteracantha, 
y be me 
al ‘oO, in Gardener's Chronioley VoL VIL few paner p. 369, been proved 
to “new s) proposed by him to d describe it “under the ihamie of 
multilineata ' 
