ON LILIES 



Coffee, as everyone knows, depends very 

 largely on its aroma and fragrance, and it has been 

 found that these may be greatly modified accord- 

 ing to the soil in which the plant is grown. The 

 fragrant qualities are often greatly intensified 

 when the plant is grown on volcanic soil and at a 

 high altitude. It is known that various spices dif- 

 fer markedly. In the same way the quantity of 

 alkaloids, such as caffeine and quinine, may vary 

 in the same species under different conditions of 

 soil and climate. There is a species of coffee that 

 is practically without caffeine; but this has little 

 aroma. It has been proposed to combine it with 

 the Arabian coffee and it may be possible to pro- 

 duce a coffee without caffeine— ^which may or may 

 not be popular. 



Among garden plants that are prized for their 

 aromatic quality, the thymes vary widely in the 

 amount and quality of their essential oils. 



The notable variation in the odor of the calla, 

 which gave me my scented variety, is duplicated 

 in a good many species of lily. 



The individuals even of the wild species vary, 

 some of them having a really delightful fragrance, 

 and some none at all. In crossing the different 

 individuals, you may accentuate the perfume, add 

 one element of fragrance to another; or, on the 

 other hand, you may make such a combination 



[247] 



