PREFERENCE FOR BLUE. 



307 



and one of the last four only in 26 eases ; while, on the 

 contrary, they selected the plain as one of the first 

 three only in 25 cases, and one of the last four in 75 

 cases. 



I may add that I was by no means prepared for 

 this result. Miiller, in his remarkable volume on 

 Alpine Flowers, states that bees are much more attracted 

 by yellow than by white. • In the same work he gives 

 the following table : — 



This table does not indeed show any absolute pre- 

 ference for one colour rather than another. In the 

 first place, the number of species compared is very 

 different in the case of the different colours ; and in 



' Al2>enMumen,Tp. 4:87. 

 X 2 



