356 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW, 



Lubbock, in his British Wild Flowers in relation to Insects, says — 

 " To them {i.e., insects) we owe the beauty of our gardens, the 

 sweetness of our fields. To them flowers are indebted for their 

 scent and colour, nay, for their very existence in its present form. 

 Not only have the present shape and outlines, the brilliant colours, 

 the sweet scent and the honey of flowers been gradually developed 

 through the unconscious selection exercised by insects, but the 

 very arrangement of the colours, the circular bands and radiating 

 lines, the form, size, and position of the petals, the relative situa- 

 tion of the stamens and pistil, are all arranged with reference to 

 the visits of insects, and in such a manner as to ensure the grand 

 object which these visits are destined to effect." The portion of 

 this extract relating to scent and colour is especially unfortunate, 

 for the scent often characterises, not only the flower, but the whole 

 of the plant, and the foliage leaves often display very vivid and 

 varied colours. In the animal world we have many examples of 

 vivid coloration, which are apparently unexplainable either on the 

 ground of protective resemblance or of sexual selection. The 

 beautiful colouring of the hind wings of many Noctuse, both male 

 and female, is but one instance in point. Yet Sir John Lubbock 

 careers through the British Flora, proving his proposition to his 

 own satisfaction. Occasionally he contradicts himself, as in the 

 two statements relative to the Bistort {I.e., pp. 20 and 158). 

 " Thus Sarcoiohaga carnaria visits Polygonum Bistorta in search 

 of honey, although that flower does not contain any ; " and " other 

 species, such as P. Fagopyrum, (the Buckwheat) and P. Bistorta, 

 are much more conspicuous, contain honey, and are fertilised by 

 insects." 



Now and again Sir John finds himself confronted by an 

 awkward fact, such as the exceedingly attractive and rather 

 inconspicuous Lime-tree blossom, which he passes over with this 

 rather remarkable sentence — "Their abundance (i.e., the flowers), 

 and the size of the tree render colour unnecessary." 



Does any meaning attach to a sentence like that ? Let us try 

 and work it out. The Apple-tree is melliferous, has many flowers, 

 is of considerable size, therefore colour is unnecessary ! The 

 Horse-chestnut is a large tree, with many nectar - bearing 

 flowers, therefore colour is unnecessary. 



The principal part in Sir John Lubbock's work is assigned to the 



