HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



123 



hand flowers of other colours possessing great con- 

 spicuousness with or without odour (white clover, 

 pear blossom, yellow crocus, dandelion, tropceolum, 

 willows), or a powerful odour with or without a certain 

 degree of conspicuousness lime-tree, mignonette), 

 combined with large quantities of easily accessible 

 honey or pollen or both, attract large numbers of 

 insects of very various orders, among which are many 

 bees. To this category, as will be seen, belong all 

 Mr. Bulman's list of "white, yellow, and greenish 

 flowers " " much frequented " by bees, and, as he truly 

 says, "a host of others might be mentioned." 



With regard to the two instances (hawthorn and 

 some " Umbellifera; "), which Mr. Bulman seems to 

 think contradict the "special colour" theory, I have 

 only to say, that the first case is in accordance with 

 Grant Allen's " Law of Progressive Colouration," and 

 the red variety ought certainly, according to his view, 

 ceteris fia?'ibits, to attract the higher kinds of insects 

 more than the white one. But surely Mr. Bulman's 

 remark, that our "gardening friends" would "pro- 

 bably" tell us that insects are attracted "not nearly 

 so well " by it, is rather poor argument. 



The " decided shade of pink " which some um- 

 belliferous plants have "before expanding" is more 

 important. It is perhaps analogous to the case of 

 Phlox mentioned* in "Colours of Flowers" (p. 

 115), which changes from blue to pink during the 

 day. " It has been suggested that this is due to the 

 presence of some substance which becomes blue by 

 non-elimination of oxygen during the night ; and as the 

 oxygen is given out during the day, the blue colour 

 disappears." Just in the same way, the pink colour 

 in the umbellifers may be due to presence of oxygen, 

 which is given off as the flower opens. But because 

 certain colours exist, as the results of chemical action, 

 where by the very circumstances of the case they 

 cannot be influenced by insect selection, surely it is 

 unwise to argue that the colours of flowers in general 

 are not produced by insect selection. 



"RUDIMENTS AND VESTIGES." 



DO not let us dishonour the memory of the great 

 master, Charles Darwin, by useless quibbles 

 over a possible construction to be placed upon his 

 words. 



The drift and meaning of his writing and that 

 which he wished to teach is understood by those who 

 wish to understand it ; therefore we need not waste 

 time and patience by useless argument. 



A word or two anent N. F. L.'s last "Reply." The 

 state indicated by the word "perfection " is relative 

 only, as Mr. Fenn pointed out — a creature is re- 

 latively perfect for the position it occupies ; but, as 

 Mr. Fenn says, that is not saying that it is incapable 

 of further advances in the direction of improvement. 

 Creatures alter, nay (so called) species alter ; see a 



recent paragraph by our old friend Mr. Mattieu 

 Williams in the March number of Science-Gossip, 

 " The Mutability of Species ;" each was perfect for 

 its environment in its day (Mr. Fenn). 



I cannot consider that we are put into a " strange 

 position " in having to seek for the highest develop- 

 ment of a given organ, anywhere. 



Surely it is not needful, in these days, to demon- 

 strate again that the senses of sight, hearing, and 

 smell, in man are inherited in an enfeebled and 

 vestigial condition, as also are the teeth, lungs, and 

 down, of his body. 



It is absurd to import into the question the pheno- 

 mena belonging to the mind. 



What avails it to prove the question of sight to 

 place a bird in a picture gallery]? Put it in its own 

 sphere, will N. F. L. say that the sight of man can 

 compare with it ? The emotions have nothing at all 

 to do with the capacity of the visual organ. 



Again, " refinement " need not be introduced ; yet 

 who shall say that the power of the hound to separate 

 from all disturbing influences, the odour that his 

 heart is set upon, is not refinement of sense ? Can 

 man do this? And if the dog hears sounds " unper- 

 ceived by us," surely this shows that his sense of 

 hearing is better than ours, and serves him to better 

 purpose. 



The emotions evolved in the higher mental develop- 

 ment of man, do not find scope in the less developed 

 mental states of other vertebrates ; they have even a 

 limited field in mankind. Would a Bosjesman, a 

 Digger Indian, or a native of Tierra del Fuego receive 

 the full possibilities of intellectual entertainment in a 

 picture gallery or at an oratorio ? 



Observe the delicacy of sight and smell in the bee, 

 that lead it to select, among an array of blooms, the 

 species that it first starts to plunder of its sweets in 

 the morning and to keep to it during its work, and to 

 return from flowery fields afar to its hive, though it 

 be a house among many houses all alike to our 

 seeming. 



Is the sight of man equal to that of the eagle 

 or cat ? His sense of smell to that of the flies, the 

 Felince or Canina? ? — or his hearing to either of the 

 two latter ? — his teeth to those of the ancient races ? 

 What shall we say of the sense that enables birds of 

 prey to swoop down from the empyrean, where a 

 moment before not a speck was visible, upon the 

 fainting life of a dying animal, or the burying beetles 

 to come suddenly from the heights of air to the car- 

 case of a dead bird or frog ? which brings the male 

 emperor moths to play round the box wherein a female 

 is imprisoned, in troops, where, unless she were 

 present, few would be seen ? 



It is a fair and reasonable deduction to assume that 

 the down on the body of man is a vestige. When 

 man emerged from the less to the higher intellectual 

 life — very slowly was it brought about — his gregarious 

 habits, and acquired methods of shelter, rendered the 



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