52 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. 
possible to learn in a short time through correspondence 
and the examination of all available living material. Dr. 
Trelease has kindly arranged to have the plants illustrated 
in such a way that they can be readily recognized. I shall 
be very glad if my work may serve as some stimulus to 
further collection and observation. 
The Agaves occupy a prominent place amongst the char- 
acteristic plants of the hot and arid regions of our conti- 
nent. The genus contains a pretty distinctly marked 
group including the largest and tallest of our herbaceous 
plants. Their flowering stalks sometimes rise to the height 
of forty feet or even more, and their conspicuous inflores- 
cence renders them objects of great picturesqueness. 
They are much prized by all who take an interest in the 
cultivation of plants. Few conservatories or gardens are 
without them. They make a most effective decoration for 
lawns, terraces, rockwork and pleasure grounds. Their 
large size, symmetry of form, stately and elegant propor- 
tions were well characterized by Linnaeus when he applied 
to them the name *' J^aoi;'," noble, admirable, wonderful. 
By far the largest number of species have their homes 
in Mexico, Central America, and the Southwestern portions 
of the United States from Texas to California. Two or 
three forms are native to our Southern States, and a few 
perhaps to South America and the West Indies. A. 
Americana, the species most commonly seen in small col- 
lections, is native to the fertile soil of Opam in Southeastern 
Mexico, but it readily adapts itself to new localities. It 
has become naturalized in the Mediterranean region, in the 
West Indies and probably in Texas and Florida, Other 
species have become naturalized in Florida and the adjacent 
islands. 
The thick fleshy leaves of Agaves generally have their 
broad bases imbricated over one another around a short 
axis, thus forming a compact tuft with comparatively little 
evaporating surface. The cuticle is adapted to resi>t 
transpiration. Roots and leaves contain large quantities of 
