( *3 2 ) 



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 

 sisal plant {Agave sisalana), and the common century 

 plant {Agave americana). The first two are decorative 

 and curious; from Agave sisalana is manufactured the sisal 

 hemp of commerce; the last, Agave americana, is well 

 known, and it is from the sap of related species that the 

 Mexican drink "pulque" is obtained by fermentation. 

 It is popularly believed that the century plants flower but 

 once in a hundred years, and then die; it is true that the 

 plant dies when done blooming, but it blooms at a much 

 earlier age than a century, sometimes when but eight or ten 

 years old. The collection of West Indian agaves is espe- 

 cially rich in species. 



A group of the dracaena family may be found in the 

 central portion of this house. This comprises members 

 of the genera Yucca and Dasylirion. A group of cacti 

 may also be seen here, the most imposing figure of which 

 is the giant cereus, Carnegiea gigantea, known as "sahuaro" 

 by the Mexicans and Indians of its native country, Ari- 

 zona and Sonora. The plants here shown were obtained 

 by an expedition sent to those regions by the Garden in 

 1902, and are the largest specimens in cultivation in the 

 east. Several large specimens of the hedgehog cactus, 

 secured at the same time, form part of this group; the 

 Indians in the desert often secure a supply of drinking 

 water from these plants by cutting off the top and macer- 

 ating the interior substance. 



Houses Nos. 7 and 8 are wholly occupied by the cactus 

 family. The collections here have been greatly enriched 



