114 THE HUMAN SIDE OF TREES 



currant flowers, 50 pounds of jasmine flowers, 

 many thousands of pounds of violets, 100 thousand 

 pounds of tuberoses, and innumerable pounds of 

 carnations, to say nothing of many smaller 

 plants. 



Nature's perfumes are for her own use, and they 

 are many and varied. She uses with wonderful 

 skill her combinations of colour and perfume to 

 aid in attracting insects to her flowers. These in- 

 sects are often the main distributors of pollen from 

 flower to flower. They are usually rewarded with 

 honey. 



All trees are manufacturers of beauty and charm. 

 An exquisite creature like the southern pomette 

 bleue (Cratcegus brachyacantha) may not have 

 marked commercial value, but its symmetrical out- 

 line, white flowers and blue berries make it a joy 

 forever. 



The story of chewing-gum is a fascinating tale. 

 Its botanical name is chicle, and it is made from 

 the life-blood of the tropical tree Achras sapota, 

 an inhabitant of northern South America, Central 

 America and certain states of Mexico. The sapota 

 is a versatile tree, for besides manufacturing three 

 to five billion chews of gum each year for persons 

 residing in all parts of the globe, it also produces 



