10 On the Colour and Smell of Plants. 



It is thus evident, that as the white-flowering species are most 

 numerous, so are they the most generally odoriferous. Among 

 the coloured flowers the red have the greatest tendency and the 

 blue the least to the formation of odoriferous substances. On 

 the average there is only one odoriferous species in ten. 



If we further separate the species having an agreeable from 

 those having a disagreeable smell, we obtain the following re- 

 sults : 



From this table it is apparent that white-flowering plants are 

 much more frequently agreeably perfumed than coloured flower- 

 ing ; for, in 100 white-flowering plants, there are, on an average, 

 14.6 having an agreeable smell, and only 1 having a disagree- 

 able ; whereas, in the same number of coloured-flowering plants, 

 there are 6.3 having an agreeable odour and 1.4 having a dis- 

 agreeable. 



There are therefore among the white-flowering plants a greater 

 number of species having an agreeable smell, than among the 

 coloured-flowering, in the proportion of 63 : 146 ; on the con- 

 trary, among the coloured-flowering there are a greater number 

 of plants having a disagreeable smell than among the white- 

 flowering, in the proportion of 10 : 14. 



The individual colours exhibit further the following differ- 

 ences, when the flowering odoriferous species in each colour are 

 reduced to 100 agreeable smelling species ; there are, according 

 to the above relations, in the flowers of 100 agreeable smelling 

 species : 



