PREFACE 1X 
more profitably than by becoming a member of this 
Society. The fortnightly meetings at Westminster, the 
rose-show at Holland House, the great flower-show of 
the year in May, in the Inner Temple gardens, the 
Journal published quarterly, and the new gardens at 
Wisley, will assuredly yield them both pleasure and 
profit, and in patronising the Society they will enable it 
to become ever more and more productive of good to all 
concerned. 
An interesting paper was read on December 15th 1902 
at the monthly dinner of the Horticultural Club, by 
Messrs Bunyard and O’Brien, on ‘‘ Scented Inconspicuous 
Flowers.” A good deal was said as to the night 
blooming and obscure flowers being perfumed and 
mostly white or pale yellow, so as to attract insect visitors 
necessary to their perfect fertilisation. Of course there 
are many cases of very large and showy flowers being 
perfumed also. Insects, birds, and other creatures again 
were thought to have sight, hearing, and smelling power 
far in excess of our own. Some insects, especially the 
Lepidoptera, are attracted towards each other over long 
distances at certain seasons probably by sound or odour. 
The alliacious smell of onions again is reproduced by 
Helix alliaria, a small snail, as also by the vapour of 
arsenic. Some perfumes we think attractive, such as cam- 
phor and lavender, are strongly repellent to some insects, 
while on the other hand odours of some Cape Stapelias, 
or ‘‘carrion flowers,” and arums, or orchids, most 
repulsive to ourselves, are strongly attractive to carrion 
flies, beetles, or slugs, etc. The permanent nature of 
some animal perfumes, musk, civet, ambergris, etc., were 
alluded to, the subtle emanations of which go on for 
years. Those present did not appear to have heard of 
Edison’s discovery years ago, of the sensitive odoroscope, 
an instrument that can detect and measure odours 
imperceptible to the ordinary senses. Its action seems 
