Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 70.djvu/231

Rh winter, and a slender raceme of flowers, A. Virginica, which is now made the type of a distinct genus, Manfreda. From the two Linnæan species left after the segregation of Furcæa and Manfreda, the genus Agave grew step by step, through later discoveries, to 127 species distinguished by its latest monographer. Of these, 35 belong to the candelabrum group designated as Euagave and represented by the two Linnæan species, and 46 have the flower-cluster contracted as in A. Lecheguilla, constituting the group Littæa. The inflorescence of the remaining 46 was not known when this monograph was written—nearly twenty years ago, and a very large part of the species have been known only through cultivated plants, most of which were described when immature, and of which no inconsiderable number died or were lost sight of before reaching a flowering age.

The describer of a garden species of Agave usually finds himself impelled to set down its probable habitat as Mexico. In this guess he is

favored by the law of chance, for only a few agaves occur to the north or south of Mexico or in the West Indies; but a considerable number of intentional or chance hybrids have originated in gardens in addition to some apparently purely cultural forms, the numerous descriptions of the last two decades are widely scattered and little comparable, and the genus stands to-day as one of the worst confused of its size—the actual number of its species apparently being not far from 200.

There appears little hope of removing this confusion except by protracted field study under unusually difficult conditions, supplemented by garden cultivation of plants from definitely ascertained spontaneous sources. Serviceable herbarium specimens are rarely seen. Their preparation is unusually difficult because of the large size and succulent nature of the plants, but they can be made. The camera is