>^ NOTE and COMMENT ^* 



Fragrance of Camassia. — Regarding the odor of 

 Caniassia which formed the subject of a recent note, Prof. 

 J. C. Nelson writes : "I am wholly unable to detect any odor 

 in our very common Camassia quamash or in the closelv re- 

 lated but less common C. Lcichtlinii. As for Ailanthus 

 glandiilosus, the bad odor seems to be confined to the stami- 

 nate flowers, but the bruised leaves of both forms exhale an 

 odor that personally is far from pleasant." Fragrance in 

 flowers is so variable that it would be hazardous to insist that 

 any species is either fragrant or odorless. Fragrance may 

 vary wath the locality, the time of day, the amount of moist- 

 ure in the air, the conditions of sunlight and shade, the season, 

 and even with the individual. The actions of bees and but- 

 terflies indicate that all flowers may be fragrant to them. 

 Among men, the individual sense of smell may differ, as we 

 have pointed out in these pages : what one considers fragrant 

 another may pronounce odorless. "When doctors disagree, 

 who shall decide?" 



Sugar. — The present sugar shortage, or rather the 

 strike of the sugar refiners, directs attention anew to sugar in 

 all its forms. One of the interesting facts which possibly 

 only a refiner can explain is why we are obliged to pay more 

 for the raw brown sugar than for the same sugar after it is 

 refined. The two principal sources of sugar in the United 

 States are the sugar cane and the sugar beet. According to 

 the chemist, cane sugar and beet sugar are in all ways iden- 

 tical, but the housekeeper insists that there is a difference, not 

 only in sweetening power, but also in the keeping qualities of 



