The herald., 1894-04-08
SOMETHING OF CENTURY PLANTS
An Interesting Article Oil a
Familiar subject.
The Century" Faltacy ExnlOded by
a Record Of Experience.
Some Amusing Experiences OF .
Tenderfoot in Southern Calf
fornia With the Pecu-
liar Plant.

Mr.. ]. G. Moore, of Otay, in the Ma
tional City Record, presented the fol-
lowing paper:
Editor Record :-Will you or any one
tell me how many California years 90 to
make century2 This is not a conun-
drum, though it may sound like one.
want information; will tell why. had
a century" plant. Now, when little
shaver | learned. along with the longer
and ehorter catechism and multiplied.
tion table, that "the aloe was tropical
plant. sometimes called century, on
account OF its blooming once in hun
dred years." So, when my father
bought one about two feet. high from a
florist, who assured us with truth beam
ing from every feature that ne had
raised it from the seed fifty years before,
he must have been remarkably pre-
served, as he did not look half that age.
We put it in an elaborate iron vase in
the conservatory, to be set on the ter
race about the middle of June, when
over-sanguine eastern folks predict a
cessation OF frosts and east winds.
We children watched it with reveren-
tial awe, and cut down on our supply of
green apples and goosebsrries, lest our
days might be incontinently shortened
thereby, and we miss the full glory of
its blooming, 80 years hence. l remem.
ber feeling a secret pity for my grand
parents, too, com bined with sneakiug
satisfaction that they would never in
the course OF human events see what |
should, more especially as one was al
ready dead and the other stone blind
and 76 at that. But pride must have a
fall and mine never recovered it's equ-
librium on finding one morning, the lst
OF juno Notwithstanding, a frost had
nipped our cherished plant and hopes,
and the one was consigned to the ash
pit and the other to painful death.
Forty years later found me grubbing
in cactus patch IN Southern California.
Il may state here that it was not In the
Otay valley.) A friend of mine, 49er,
had said "a man could live on that de-
lightful climate" 80 as l had exhausted
everything substantisl in the east, and
it had not even a climate for one to fall
back on, concluded to try my friends
advice, and as it would not cost any.
thing after getting there, took wife
along. Now do not think was fool
enough to settle in cactus patch from
choice, but the fact is, though my friend
forgot to mention it at the time, there
was as much cactus ss climate. Truth
compels me to add, after careful, not to
say painful study oil the matter, one can
live about as comfortably on the one as
the other. After months hacking.
chopping and dragging, with the help OF
a celestial, got an acre clear, and I'll
say this for Southern California, at least
in the part where l settled, when you
get it clear it's the cearest place this
eide of the great desert. The very feas
cast shadows as clear as those of coming
events. | did not care for over an acre,
for if one is to live on climate. why go
to the trouble of raising vegetables?
For all knew the two might not agree.
But my wife, with woman's inconsist
ency, did not like the clean bare ground,
with its chevaux de freize of cactus. So
after | had put up "a neat little house of
inch plank and unbleached cotton. such
as all my neighbors had, she insisted on
planting vines about it, saying it seemed
really provideulial that ali the nails and
hooks driven in to hold our wardrobe
and culinary articles should have stuck
to the,outside for her 10 tie her
strings to and train the plants over.
was willing to oblige her, as she had
been 80 sympathetic and ready with
poultices on one or two occasions when
had involuntarily seated myself on the
cactus. So l gave her a trowel with
which to loosen the earth, while | rode
my broncho to our next door neighbor,
a few miles away, 10 zee il they could
supply me with seeds or slips. They
seemed nice, friendly people-Pike's
Peakers. The old lady kicked pig out
the front door as she saw me dismoupt,
and am ashamed to say that l noticed
that she wore but one garment as she
her foot; but that made up for
all other deficiencies in its length OF
calico train. She expressed herself as
'tarrible glad" to see me, sDd her old
man would be ''tarrible glad, toc,"
which be confirmed. on entering, with
dIaWl calculated to turn acockney green
with envy. After regaling me with a
pipe of homegrown tobacco which made
me dizzy, and a cup of pure chicory
sweetened with honey, in which two
Iow-spirited flies had already suicided,
We went out to search for plants, fol-
lowed by regiment OF tough looking
Shsnghais and litter OF black pigs. All
we could find was vine of mock orange
and small aloe, only six years old,
which l gladly accepted along with the
to "handle keerfully, as them
spikes aid dsgg tarrible." l also filled
ny pockets with the mock-orange seeds
The vine was snowy at tho price, and,
though the fruit was uneatable, it would
Keep my wife in stocking darners for
generations.
Bidding my hospitable friends adios,
started for home, where l found my
wife seated, the picture OF despair, q
broken trowel in her hand and perspira-
ion streaming down her woelul face.
No impression had been made on the
,arth. She said she had been wrestling
With it ever since left. Alas "fragile
Eoman," thought but said nothing
,nly set down my aloe with emphasis. l
vent for spade. After working for 10
minutes was thankful had not said
At the expiration of l5 l
Wished my wife would 60 into the house
because | felt | must cav something:
md in five minutes more | did, and she
,nly looked gratified and strolled off to
,all the Chinaman with his horse and
blow. That evening we planted the
leeds at the side OF the house, which
esembled huge SPIDERS web, with all
he cords and wires which my wife had
aced across it. [ suggested that she
hould wait till the things had sprouted,
,ut she thought it might encourage
hem to know that everything was in
eadiness. The aloe we set in front OF
ha do0r cot q tOoth-nuO of uator