LUTHER BURBANK 



of a crop of stinging hairs as with the nettle; or 

 the secretion of oils or other chemicals that have 

 offensive odors, or bitter, acrid, or peppery taste. 



In the present chapter we are concerned with a 

 conglomerate group of plants that have resorted 

 to the last-named expedient in the attempt to 

 protect themselves against the unwelcome atten- 

 tions of herbivorous beasts. The onion and its 

 allies, the mints, mustard, peppers, and the others 

 of this company, are for the most part lowly herbs 

 or succulent bushes that have qualities of flesh that 

 make them attractive. In self-defense they have 

 developed added qualities, chiefly through the 

 manufacture of essential oils, of odors or flavors 

 that are the opposite of appealing. 



But as in a good many other instances, these 

 plants by their very zeal to some extent defeat 

 their own purposes. The unique quality of the 

 flavors they develop, even though at first repellent 

 to the palate, serve as a stimulus to the receptive 

 mind of man, and urge him to develop a taste for 

 the very things which at first seemed repellent. 



So it has happened that plants that seem by 

 the very nature of their product to be denied 

 presence on the table have come to be regarded 

 everywhere as admirable accessories to the dietary, 

 supplying flavors that pique the appetite and 

 facilitate digestion. These stimulators of jaded 



[146] 



