268 THE YOUNG 



flowers are strongly scented, whilst the 

 cultivated species, such as C. jach- 

 manni, with showy richly coloured 

 blooms, four inches in diameter, are 

 almost odourless. Similarily we find 

 that the delicious perfume of the violet 

 is confined to one species (V.odorata), 

 in which, although the flowers are 

 normally blue they are small, and a 

 white variety commonly occurs, and is, 

 if possible, more exquisitely fragrant, 

 whilst the showy pansies of the parterre 

 charms the eye alone. That the attri- 

 bute of perfume is decidedly useful to 

 the plant may be inferred from the 

 fact of the survival of the humble mig- 

 nonette which has nothing to recom- 

 mend it, in its humble attenuated and 

 almost abortive flowers, were it not for 

 their abundant fragrance :— - 



" Mignonette's meek, humble form, 

 Without one tint upon her modest garb 

 To draw the idle stare of wandering eyes. 



Yet rich 



In precious fragrance is that lowly one, 

 So loved for her sweet qualities, that I 

 Should woo her first amid a world of 



flowers." 



My readers may remember that I 

 have already indicated that in the 

 ascending scale of flower-colour we 

 place green as the first or fundamental, 

 passing on through yellow, white, pink, 

 red, to blue as the highest. Taking 

 then our native flora as a text, I can 

 recall no blue flower endowed with 

 fragrance except the sweet violet, the 

 blue- bell (hyacinth), and the doubt- 



NATURALIST. 



fully wild grape hyacinth (muscari), 

 and in all these white varieties are 

 common. The fragrant red or pink 

 blossoms are also not abundant, yet 

 considerably more numerous, as the 

 stock, pink, red clover, wild rose, 

 apple, heaths, musk-thistle, wild mar- 

 joram, thyme, mezereum, fragrant 

 orchis (Gymnadenia). Several of these 

 are very little tinged with pink 

 " and are scarcely removed from white, 

 in which the greatest bulk of our truly 

 fragrant flowers are found, as dame's 

 violet fHesperis), allyssum, mellilot, 

 white clover, meadow-sweet, rowan- 

 tree, white beam-tree, elder-tree, honey- 

 suckle, marsh bedstraw, the waxen-like 

 flowers of which are deliciously honey- 

 scented, the woodruff, narcissus, and 

 lily-of-the-valley. These, with a few 

 green and yellow ones like the prim- 

 rose, comprise the bulk of our fragrant 

 flowers. All this would strongly indi- 

 cate that plants which had laid them- 

 selves out to dev elope large or brilliant 

 coloured blossoms had not at the same 

 time evolved perfume. There are whole 

 genera of plants with highly specialised 

 and coloured flowers, such as the vero- 

 nicas, in which a brilliant blue pre- 

 dominates, which are, nevertheless, 

 scentless. Honey and perfume are 

 usually, although not invariably, asso- 

 ciated together in the same blossom. 

 The reason for this is obvious : if the 

 insects were allured by an exquisite 

 perfume and found nothing more sub- 



