This magnificent native of North America is by no means an uncommon plant in our gardens, but, with us, it is seldom seen in flower. There is indeed a notion, but it is an erroneous one, that the American aloe does not bloom until it is a hundred years old. The fact is, that the flowering depends almost wholly on its growth. In hot countries it will flower in a few years; but in colder climates, the growth being slower, it is necessarily longer in arriving at maturity. The stem which bears the blossoms rises from the centre of the leaves, and, when the plant is in a vigorous state, it frequently exceeds the height of twenty feet. An American aloe in the garden of the king of Prussia was forty feet high. Branches issue from every side, and in such manner as to form a kind of pyramid, composed of greenish yellow flowers, which stand erect, and are seen in thick clusters at every joint. When in full flower, the appearance of this aloe is extremely splendid; and if the season be favourable, and the plant be sheltered from the cold in autumn, a succession of blossoms will sometimes be produced for near three months. In the warmer parts of Europe, American aloes are cultivated as objects of considerable utility. They are frequently grown in rows, as fences, for enclosures, particularly in Spain, Portugal, and Italy. In Algarvia the leaves are employed for scouring pewter and other kitchen utensils, and floors; and, cut into slices, are used for the feeding of cattle. By a certain preparation, the juice of the leaves is made into cakes, which are employed for washing, and which will lather with salt water as well as with fresh. The fibres of the leaves, when properly prepared, may be separated into threads that are useful in various ways. This separation is sometimes effected by bruising and steeping them in water, and afterwards beating them. The process, in some parts of Portugal, is, after plucking the largest and best leaves, to place them on a square board, which a person presses obliquely between his breast and the ground, and then scrapes with a square iron bar held in both hands. By this operation all the juices are pressed out, and only the fibres and some of the membranous parts of the leaves remain, which are then easily detached. The fibres are employed for all the purposes to which thread can be applied, but they are neither strong nor durable; and if exposed to moisture, they soon decay. 109. _The FAN PALM is a very remarkable tree_ (Corypha umbraculifera) _that grows in the East Indies, but particularly in Malabar, and the island of Ceylon; its leaves, eight or ten in number, rise out of the summit of the trunk, are winged and somewhat fan-shaped, and have their segments connected by a thread or fibre._