OCR Text |
Show THE ODOR OF PLANTS. It Comes From the Heart "of the Flowei Usually, Sometimes From the Leaves. The various delightful or disagreeable odors of the plant family usually reside In the flower itself, though . in some species the seae ia in the leaves and stem or even in the root. In either case the odor i due to the presence of volatile essential oils, usually of a resinous nature. na-ture. The number of these oils is unknown, un-known, and their nature is so complex that even a slight variation in the temperature tem-perature or in the quantity of light falling upon them 'is sufficient to' cause a rearrangement of their component elements, el-ements, resulting, bo far as the snieil is concerned, at least, in an entirely different differ-ent compound. Prophylic ether, which is an example exam-ple of these unstable compounds, can, by a slightly different arrangement of Its elements, be made to yield either the odor of pineapples or that of decaying fish. The reason, therefore, why each Epecies and kind of a plant has a different differ-ent odor is the ease with which one perfume per-fume may be transformed into another. Sufficient cause for such transition is often found in the mode of life of each variety of plant and the difference in their chemical constitution. Whatever in any way affects the life or growth of a plant rapidly shows its effect upon the flower and its perfume. The nature of the soil and its humidity, humidi-ty, the variation of temperature or the intensity of the sunlight will sooner or later transform the entire nature of a plant, for, as has been fully shown above, one plant, in order to produce exactly the same perfume as another, must not only be of the same species, but live in the same elements, earth, air, etc It must also absorb a similar amount of lignt and breathe the same, which would, of course, necessitate lea res similar in size, color and shape. New York Advertiser. |