Some Wild or Common Fragrant Plants. 107 



or Philadeplhus, has flowers with the perfume of orange 

 blossoms, hence the name of Mock Orange. It is said that the 

 leaves have a flavour like that of the cucumber, but I have never 

 tested this for myself. Everyone here is familiar with the 

 fragrance of the Primrose, and the genus Primula has many 

 flowers of different degrees of this virtue. Our wild Cowslips 

 and Oxslips share with the common Primrose this fragrance, but 

 those who cultivate other Primulas would do well to test and 

 record those which have and those which do not possess this 

 bounty in their blossoms. The perfume of the Rose is one of its 

 greatest charms, and a scentless Rose is a poor thing indeed, 

 however great may be the outward beauty of the bloom. The 

 Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis, is to be seen in some gardens 

 in our district, and its aromatic odour is familiar to all who have 

 ever met with this shrub. The common Elder, Sambucus nigra, 

 has leaves which have a strong but disagreeable odour. This is 

 .said to keep away flies, and I read recently that leaves put in the 

 runs of moles drove away these troublesome creatures. The 

 flowers are employed for making Elder-flower water for flavour- 

 ing ices, etc. The common Meadow Sweet, Spirjea Ulmaria, 

 has strongly scented flowers, said to be dangerous in the dwelling 

 in quantity. The fragrant leaves have quite a different odour 

 from that of the flowers. Solidagos, or Golden Rods, are 

 generally more or less fragrant, and attract flies in considerable 

 numbers; as also do the Silenes, S. noctiflora being a veritable 

 fly-trap during the night. The Tanacetum, or Tansy, has a con- 

 trary effect on flies, and has been used in rooms to drive them 

 from the house. The common Valerian, Valeriana officinalis, has 

 fragrant roots, and attracts cats when dried. It is said to be used 

 by ratcatchers to entice these vermin to their traps. Many other 

 flowers and plants might be named, but those I have mentioned, 

 with the Violet, with which I now close, will be sufficient to draw 

 your attention to a subject of considerable interest. The Viola, 

 or Violet, including many of the Pansies and Viola species, gives 

 us many sweet scented flowers. That " fragrance which is the 

 song of flowers " is one of the most divine of gifts possessed by 

 the flowers, and I can only regret that lack of time has prevented 

 me from further discussing a subject of importance in many ways, 

 which also induces us to think more and more of the mysteries 

 which present themselves daily in our study of our flowers and 

 plants. 



