FOUR COMMON FLOWERS 171 



the blending of the other chemicals that repre- 

 sent the odoriferous qualities of the other species, 

 and it is only by rare exception that an individual 

 appears having just the right combination to 

 produce an attractive perfume. 



But the point of interest is that when such 

 an individual does appear, as in the case of the 

 Mayflower, the anomaly is accounted for quite 

 adequately by a knowledge of the existence 

 of fragrant species among the ancestors of 

 the hybrid. 



Even if we had no knowledge of the existence 

 of such an ancestor, we should still be justified 

 in assuming that a fragrant verbena is really a 

 case of atavism. It will be recalled that we in- 

 voked the existence of remote unknown fragrant 

 ancestors in explanation of the appearance of 

 our fragrant calla. But there is an element of 

 added interest in the knowledge that in the case 

 of the verbena the ancestor responsible for the 

 quality of fragrance can be traced. 



It would constitute a very interesting experi- 

 ment in heredity, should some one care to under- 

 take to hybridize a fragrant verbena with an 

 odorless one and to trace carefully the hereditary 

 influence of this quality — noting, for example, 

 whether it acts as a preponent or as a recessive 

 character, and whether it tends to reappear in the 



