(9) 



to carry them over periods of drought. On the right hand 

 bench, as one enters from No. 4, are mainly plants from 

 southern Africa: the carrion flowers (Stapelia), relatives of 

 our common milkweed of the roadsides; Gasteria, Hawor- 

 thia, and other South African representatives of the lily 

 family; and the fig-marigolds, Mesembryanthemum, be- 

 longing to the carpet-weed family. 



On the end of the center bench, opposite to the entrance 

 from house 4, is the collection of the fleshy members of 

 the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, mostly natives of the 

 Old World. These closely resemble forms of the genus 

 Gereus and related genera of the cactus family, to be found 

 in houses 6 and 7. In fact the adaptation to an arid 

 environment, by the thickening of stems or leaves, is 

 strikingly illustrated in the plants of several families con- 

 tained in the collections in houses 5 to 8. On the westerly 

 side of the center bench are the aloes, mainly South African 

 members of the lily family. A large part of the remaining 

 portion of the center bench and the side bench on the east 

 side are devoted to members of the orpine family, many 

 of these interesting and beautiful forms. The echeverias 

 from Mexico and Central America, and the sempervivums 

 or house-leeks, from the Old World, are conspicuous 

 among these. Among other genera represented are Sedum, 

 Kalanchoe, Pachyphytum, and Crassula (in house 6 are large 

 specimens of Crassula portulacea). Many of the stone- 

 crops are hardy plants and a collection of these may be 

 found at the herbaceous grounds. A large number of 

 specimens belonging in this house and in the three following 

 ones may be found during the summer in the beds in the 

 conservatory court. 



House No. 6. This is also a desert house. On the 

 corner benches is a collection of century plants {Agave), 

 a large genus known only from the New World; other and 

 larger plants of this same genus may be found in the central 

 portion of the house. Conspicuous among these are: 

 the thread-bearing agave, Queen Victoria's agave, the 



