It is
commonly supposed that this plant, the _Agave Americana_, or American
aloe, blooms only at the end of 100 years, hence the common name
century plant.
Only two plants are on record among the floriculturists as having
bloomed in New York State. Thirty years ago, a century plant, of which
the Casey aloe was a slip, flowered in the greenhouses of the Van
Rensselaer family at Albany. In 1869, a second plant blossomed at
Rochester. At present, two aloes, one at Albany, the other at
Brooklyn, are reported as giving evidences of approaching maturity.
They are pronounced not American aloes, or century plants, but _Agave
Virginica_, a plant of the same family commonly found in sterile soil
from Virginia to Illinois and south, and blossoming much more
frequently. In Mexico the century plant is turned to practical account
and made a profitable investment to its owners. After the scape has
reached its full growth it is hewn down, and the sap, which fills the
hollow at its base, is ladled out and converted by fermentation into
"agave wine," or "pulque," the favorite drink of the Mexicans. This
pulque, or octli, has an acid resembling that of cider, and a very
disagreeable odor, but the taste is cooling and refreshing. A brandy
distilled from pulque is called "aquardiente," or "mexical." The
plant, by tapping, can be made to yield a quart of sap daily.
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