( Iv ) 



" 1 have come across a few further cases of plants whose odour 

 is attractive to bees and butterflies, but unpleasant to man. 

 Thus the flowers of prickly Comfre}', which are of a dull, washed- 

 out, reddish violet, give off a herbaceous odour blended -with a 

 sugary sickliness. Yet every patch of this plant is so beset with 

 bees, that in sunny weather it would be easy to capture half-a- 

 dozen at a single stroke of the net. The plant is less frequented 

 by butterflies than by bees. 



"The so-called 'African Sedum,' another [daiit with flowers of 

 an impure red colour and a dull sugary smell, is a remarkable 

 favourite with Lepidoptera, less so with bees. No plant more 

 deserves cultivation by lovers of butterflies and moths in country 

 districts, and even in the suburbs. Marjoram, which much 

 resembles the African Sedum both in the colour and the scent of 

 its flowers, is much haunted by butterflies. 



" If we compare with the aforesaid plants some which possess 

 odours most agreeable to man, such as the Clove-pink, the 

 Carnation, and especially the Lavender, we find them relatively 

 neglected by insects. 



" Of course it may be replied that the true perfume plants are 

 frequented and fertilised by nocturnal Lepidoptera. This can 

 scarcely be the case as far as theNoctua group is concerned, since 

 the sugaring-mixtures, to which these insects come very eagerly, 

 approach in their smell much more nearly to the Privet and the 

 Comfrey-blossora than to the Clove-pink or the Lavender. 



"I should venture to suggest that the fertilisation of the true 

 perfume-flowers is effected in warmer climates by hawk-moths. I 

 know, at least, that in Dalraatia the flowers of the Oleander and 

 the Orange are much haunted by Sphingidaj." 



Mr. Distant, Mr. Stainton, Mr. Weir, Mr. Stevens and the 

 President took part in the discussion which ensued, and stated 

 that, in their experience. Petunias were often most attractive to 

 insects. Mr. Stainton referred to the capture, by himself, of 

 sixteen specimens of Sphinx convolvuli at Petunias, iu three 

 evenings in 184G. 



