ALool. a, the Century PLANT.
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ALBANY, Wednesday, Sept 20.


The A,ucricar Agauc, OF Century Plant, now in
blossom at the Van Rensselaer, Manor House, and
exhibited for the benefit of the Albany Orphan
Asylum, naturally attracts many visitors. vis-
lied it to-day, among hundreds and found it worth
the trouble. With the general appearance of this
plant when not in blossom the reader will ma u-
rally be acquainted, as it is found in most Botan-
ical establishments. 1t consists Of some ten to
thirty sword shaped leaues or branches, three or
four feet long three inches wide, and as thick as
mans hand, all springng out from the root to-
gether and receding more or less from their com
mon centre they grow. Out of the centre of
these, in the plant which has for sixty years been
in the possession of tho Van Rcnsselaers, a stalk
for the first time shot forth the 9Th of June last


and had attained the hight of 90 feet inches on
the 9Th inst. when it ceased growing. | should
Judge it some four inches through one foot in
circumference at the base, ,apering very little till
il has reached a length Of some fifteen feet, when
it begins to throw of stout branches. These
branches are 28 in number. some of.them three
feet long, and display each three, four or more
bnncees Of greensh yellow .fomcrs, as they maybe
termed though there is marvclously little offloral
beauty or similitsde about them The blossoms of
the Chestnut or White Ash will give better idea
Of them than those of any plant which happen
now to remember. In fact, the likeness TO the
Chestnut flower is very considerable except that
those of the Agave stand perpendicuarly up from
the branch instead of drooping depending, while
no leaf orfoliage is found upon any part OF the
stalk or branches. Some of the upper branches
are not yet expanded, while the lower are now in
full blossom. The plant is protected from tue
weather by house Of wood and glass, and un-
dersand its Towering has been hastened some years
by heat In tropical South America, of which it
is native, it blossoms in u few years. in this
climate, none have been known to flower under
forty or fifty years though do not earn,hat there
are any precise data for the popular belief that
its natural period is just century. (Of course, it
is understood that if left absolutely Nature, tile
Agave would blossom here at all.) The
precise age of this is not known, it was
bought by the Van Renssclaers at auction in New
York just after the Revolution.


The stalk grew Is inches per day for several
days after it set about it. 1t stopped three weeks
age, but, if properly protected and warmed, it is
expected TO put forth and rpenits flowers for some
| weeks yet. When these matured the plant
dies. unlike the Aloe, with which it has been con-
| founded The Aloe is of Asiatic origin. The
Agave has been known to reach forty feet might,
! The first that was known in England lowered in
1899 There arc several varieties of the plant,
| generally smaller than this. H.G.