30 THE GENESIS OF SPECIES [Chap. 



ties uf the giraffe are supposed to have been favoured and 

 preserved. 



The argument as to the different modes of preservation 

 has been very well put by ^Nlr. A\^illace,^ in reply to the 

 objection that "colour, being dangerous, should not exist in 

 nature."' This objection appears similar to the one here 

 urged ; as it is here said that a giraffe neck being needful, 

 there should be many animals with it, while the objector 

 noticed by Mr. Wallace says, "A dull colour being needful, 

 all animals should be so coloured." And Mr. Wallace 

 shows in reply how porcupines, tortoises and mussels, 

 very hard-coated bombardier beetles, stinging insects and 

 nauseous-tasted caterpillars, can afford to be brilliant by 

 the various means of active defence or passive protection 

 they possess, other than obscure coloration. He says, 

 " The attitudes of some insects may also protect them, as 

 the habit of turning up the tail by the harmless rove- 

 beetles (Staphylinidiu) no doubt leads other animals, besides 

 children, to the belief that they can sting. The curious 

 attitude assumed by sphinx caterpillars is probably a 

 safeguard, as well as the blood-red tentacles which can 

 suddenly be thrown out from the neck by the caterpillars 

 of all the true swallow-tailed butterflies." 



lUit, because manv different kinds of animals can elude 

 the observation or defy the attack of enemies in a great 

 variety of ways, it by no means follows that there are any 

 similar number and variety of wavs for attainiiiu veLietable 

 food in a country where all such food, other than the lofty 

 branches of trees, has been for a time destroyed. In such 

 a country we have a number of vegetable-feeding Ungu- 

 lates, all of which present minute variations as to the 



^ See "Natural Selection," i»)j. CU— 7o. 



