Show century plant believed to be oddest ice house the rh e maguey or century plant Is used in making ice at durango city mexico and Is 13 said to be the only icehouse of the kind in the world notes a writer in the lo io diana polls news when the century plant Is about eight years old the leaves from I 1 which the pulque lias has been taken are spread out on straw jn ja the plaza in the public gard garden errs and 1 other open spaces with tho the coni con i caie cae sides of the leaves uppermost then about two quarts of 0 water Is poured into each cacti leaf and freezing Is unknown in the city under any other natural conditions tal hie water freezes in the manucy leaves and in the morning hundreds ot of chunks ot of ice are gathered and put in adobe lee bolders each about 1 20 0 feet deep and 20 feet square the supply usually lasts until the middle ot of july or tile the first of august and is 13 large enough to be a commercial factor in the ice market of the region of 0 more alian than durango city Is about feet above sea leel and nt at tills this altitude there Is rapid cooling arter after evaporation to which tile the water Is exposed by the broad shallow of the leabes TI tills Is is 15 ile he ildved to be the scientific ceilla cl explanation illa of tile odd ice plant there is a legend that the method was learnell in the century by fattier father jose lopez an elderly priest who also was n scientist |