The Scents of Flowers 



joram. Among flowers that are not so fast in 

 their smells the chief are limes and violets. In a 

 wood you may smell violets before you see them, 

 and rejoice in them ; you may also in the same 

 way detect the presence of ransoms or wild garlic, 

 but without the same enjoyment. I believe that 

 nearly all night-scented flowers give out their 

 scents voluntarily ; it is so certainly with the 

 night-scented stock, the night-blowing cereus, the 

 lychnis, and many others, and this would be very 

 useful in attracting the moths. It is well known 

 how strong is the scent of the sweetbriar after 

 rain ; this is supposed to arise from the breaking 

 of the scent-glands by the rain, which is also the 

 explanation of the strong scent of mint, thyme, 

 and other low -growing herbs when trodden on. 

 How large a part in the structure of some plants 

 is filled by these scent-glands may easily be seen 

 by holding up a myrtle leaf to the light ; the trans- 

 parent dots are the glands containing the scent. 



Another curious thing in flower scents is that, 

 however strong the scent of some plants is, it is 

 quite imperceptible to some persons, who yet have 

 the full gift of smell. I knew a gardener who was 

 very sensitive to evil smells, but he told me he 

 could detect no scent whatever in any flower, 

 except the lemon-scented verbena (the leaves of 

 course) and some tea roses, but he was a great 

 snuff-taker, and he fancied that had altered, but 

 not destroyed, the sense of smell. 



The commercial value of flower scents is very 

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