Scientific American Volume 88 Number 16 (April 1903) . , with the cars, of withstanding the high speed of90 miles per hour, a train speed which has been thor-oughly demonstrated both here and abroad to be farbeyond the limits of possibility imposed by the trackand road-bed conditions of the best railway lines. A CENTURY PLANT IN BLOOM. BT ARTHUR 1NKERSLEY. The century plant was so named because of thepopular idea that it blooms only once in a hundredyears. It need hardly be said that this idea (likemost popular ones) is erroneous. In the genial clim-ate of California the plant blooms in from f
Scientific American Volume 88 Number 16 (April 1903) . , with the cars, of withstanding the high speed of90 miles per hour, a train speed which has been thor-oughly demonstrated both here and abroad to be farbeyond the limits of possibility imposed by the trackand road-bed conditions of the best railway lines. A CENTURY PLANT IN BLOOM. BT ARTHUR 1NKERSLEY. The century plant was so named because of thepopular idea that it blooms only once in a hundredyears. It need hardly be said that this idea (likemost popular ones) is erroneous. In the genial clim-ate of California the plant blooms in from fifteen totwenty years, but in colder climates . from forty tofifty years may be necessary to bring it to botanical name of the plant is Agave Americanavariegata, and was given to it because of its splendidappearance. The agave is a native of Northern Mex-ico, where it is named the maguey, and furnishespulque, the national drink of Mexico. In Golden It is announced that Stanley Spencer will possiblyenter for the St. Louis airship Gate Park, San Francisco, the sandy soil is speciallyfavorable to the agave, of which there are abouttwenty species in various stages of existence. Whenthe plant begins to bloom, it throws up a single stalk,from which the tassel-like flowers sprout forth oneither side. The great flower-stalk draws all the sapand vigor from the broad leaves of the plant, which,after it has reached its perfection, droops and at the base of the fleshy, glossy, dark-greenleaves are found little suckers, each with a root,which, when planted, at once begins to grow. Thougha century plant in flower is not a very uncommonsight in California, it is sufficiently so to attract con-siderable attention; while to most Europeans it isa very rare and wonderful occurrence. The accomp-anying photograph was taken by Charles Weidner, ofSan Francisco, and was sent by Mr. Arthur Inkersley,of the same city. ? »1 The Current Supplement. In the current Supplemen
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