288 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Srpr., 1899. 
Horticulture, 
YUCCAS AND AGAVES. 
By R. R. HARDING, 
Curator, Toowoomba Botanic Gardens. 
How much would these be thought of, if they were stove plants, difficult to 
cultivate and to get into bloom. But as they are only hardy plants that will 
grow anywhere, they are seldom geen cultivated, and yet more beautiful or 
more striking objects it is impossible to have, especially when in full bloom. 
Effective as they are in the form of a single specimen upon the lawn, they are 
much more so when in groups, or planted on an embankment, especially if their 
foliage is well mixed. ‘They also make a splendid background for more dwarf- 
like plants. No matter how severe the drought, they do not feel its effects ; 
in fact, during the past dry season, when all other flowering plants suffered, 
these with their blooms enlivened up the grounds. Those who have never grown 
yuccas, nor have eyer seen them in masses, can haye no idea of the grand display 
they make when mixed judiciously. Ground totally unfit for anything else, is 
well adapted for their growth. I have often advised some residents out West, 
where the rainfall is small, and who have been disheartened at losing their 
plants year after year, to go in for these and all other plants that delight in such 
weather. Of course, they will not make much display of flowers, but, if placed 
properly, their foliage is quite equal to the former in beauty, and would certainly 
be better than nothing. When once established, they may safely be allowed to 
care for themselves: no undergrowth will affect them, and no garden is complete 
without them. Quite a number of these bear beautiful flower-stems 3 feet or 
more in length, each single flower nearly pure white, followed by ornamental 
fruits in their season, like short, stout bananas. ‘These glisten with the rich 
colour of polished cedar. T have used this plant with good effect in hiding 
unsightly corners and buildings, at the corners of flower-beds to patsy visitors 
from taking too short a cut, at the corners of fences; and when planted in 
double rows as an ornamental dividing fence, or in unsightly tracks through 
the lawns, their sharp dagger points answer these purposes with good effect. 
They are the best plants for the Downs for putting into vases, and if the sharp 
points are cut off they do no harm, Around the bandstand in these grounds, 
the flooring being some 6 feet from the ground, I formed an embankment 
sloping down to nothing. Yucca was employed in two rows all round, except 
at the entrance. These were merely the tops from other older plants cut to any 
length required, and stuck in the earth—nothing more. On the outside the bank 
was finished off with cuttings of Hcherera glauca.’ At each side of the entrance 
two yuccas were planted in vases. Now this is one of the prettiest groups in 
the grounds. The plants grew straight away, and each year they all bloom 
together, and have given no trouble. They are very useful in reventing boys 
from climbing up the railmgs when the band does play. Could not these be 
utilised along the banks of the river in the Botanic Gardens, or at the forts at 
Lytton, as a means of partial defence? They would be suitable for binding the 
soil together and for stopping the drift of sand. 
In some parts of the globe they are commonly called Dagger Leaf, Striped 
Dagger Leaf, Adam’s Needle, and Eye's Thread. The blooms of these are 
edible. They are picked from the stems, and scalded two or three times in boiling 
water to draw out the rather peculiar taste. ‘Then, cooked with bacon, like 
cabbage, and eaten with vinegar, they are considered quite a treat. ‘The leaves 
