17 



presence of a galax bed is often advertised by the scent at a 

 distance of from twenty to thirty paces. 



The strength of the odor varies greatly at different times, and 

 is often reduced to zero when drought, cold, or other unfavorable 

 conditions impair the health and vigor of the plant — a fact 

 which will account for the failure of many observers to detect it. 

 Specimens when removed from the soil lose their odor in a short 

 time, and for this reason, laboratory students and people who 

 know the galax only through its popular use for decorative 



Fig. I. Bed of galax in bloom, Lavender Mountain, Ga. 



purposes are not likely to become acquainted with its distinctive 

 odor. I once packed carefully a number of vigorously growing, 

 and equally vigorous smelling specimens with some of the mould 

 in which they were rooted and sent them to the Agricultural 

 Department at Washington for examination, but every trace 

 of the smell had vanished by the time they reached there. It 

 seems to reside principally in the leaves and is most perceptible 

 in warm weather, when the plant is in its best condition. In 



