ON THE INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ON PLANTS. 135 
as in the former situation they will receive a much greater degree of light, by- 
being more fully exposed to the sun's genial and beneficial influences. With a few 
observations on the genus Agave, we shall for the present dismiss this subject. 
The Agave Americana, or American Aloe, is a plant that is cultivated in our 
collections solely for the beauty and singularity of its large and handsome fleshy 
leaves, as it is very rarely that we succeed in inducing it to flower in this country. 
This latter defect is commonly attributed to the supposed circumstance of this 
plant only flowering once in a hundred years ; but this fallacy has been so 
frequently disproved and confuted, that it is unnecessary here to advert to it. 
In its native country, (the tropical parts of America,) it generally arrives at matu- 
rity, and produces its flowers, within a term of ten years ; but in the collections of 
this country it seldom flowers within the period popularly assigned to it, or at 
least, within seventy years, a circumstance entirely owing to the deficiency of heat, 
but more especially, of light, with which it is supplied. It is true that most cul- 
tivators expose their plants of this species to the open air during the summer 
months, but throughout the long winter season, they are usually placed in a dark 
conservatory or orangery, frequently thirty or forty feet from the glass, and 
shaded besides by other plants. We therefore maintain, that if these plants 
were constantly kept in an exposed situation, it would not be such an extremely 
rare occurrence to witness them in flower as it now is. Many cultivators 
would probably prefer keeping a remarkably fine specimen of this plant in a dor- 
mant state, to adopting any measures for inducing it to flower, as it is well known 
that the plant perishes immediately after it has ceased flowering. But this we 
may venture to denounce as a crude and illiberal notion, for it is notorious that 
this plant may be propagated with extreme facility from offsets, and by this 
means an abundant succession of young plants may be maintained. As the loss of 
a fine specimen might thus speedily be supplied with others equally fine, the 
gratification of having this plant in flower, would more than compensate for the 
destruction of the specimen ; and we entreat the attention of cultivators to the 
importance of keeping this plant constantly exposed to the full influence of solar 
light, that our collections may no longer be deprived of the extraordinary beauty 
of the flowers of this singular species. 
In conclusion, we would just remark, that the principles we have thus laid down 
with regard to the necessity and importance of affording certain plants a great 
degree of light, are equally applicable to the whole of the genera and species com- 
prised in the term " succulent plants ; " and that where it is wished to flower any 
species of this beautiful tribe in perfection, (which is doubtless the chief end and 
object of every cultivator,) this desirable purpose may be fully attained by due 
attention to the subject of this article ; but, if this is negleeted, and these plants 
are kept in a house where a sufficient degree of light is not supplied, nothing but 
failure and disappointment can be expected to result from such an injudicious and 
injurious system of treatment. 
