OTHER USEFUL PLANTS 85 



the various molecules of the different sugars and 

 allied carbohydrate substances are built up. 



Some chemists regard a molecule of a sub- 

 stance called methyl aldehyde, which consists 

 of a single atom each of carbon and oxygen com- 

 bined with two atoms of hydrogen as the basal 

 form of carbon compound which the chlorophyll 

 in the plant leaf makes by bringing together an 

 atom of carbon from the atmosphere and a mole- 

 cule of water. 



From this relatively simple carbon compound 

 more elaborate compounds are built, through the 

 introduction of varying numbers of additional 

 atoms of carbon or hydrogen or oxygen, as the 

 case may be, and all of the intricate juices and 

 flavors and sweet and bitter principles of the 

 various plants are thus compounded in the mar- 

 velous laboratory of the plant cell. 



THE PRODUCT OF THE HOP 



Among the multitudes of compounds of the 

 almost endless series in which carbon, hydrogen, 

 and oxygen are joined through the agency of 

 the plant cell, there is one that is of peculiar 

 interest from the standpoint of the agriculturist, 

 because it gives value to a plant that otherwise 

 would be at best a troublesome weed, to be 

 ignored and despised. 



