CHARACTERISTICS OF ALPINE PLANTS 53 



Creation is thoroughly on the defensive, or it would 

 not thrive, and anything— any attribute or con- 

 trivance — of docile purpose is, so to speak, 

 thoroughly policed and fenced about with barbed 

 wire. Hence flowers can scarcely be wholly and 

 meekly inviting. Yet we are children of extremes, 

 and it were well to bear in mind how much we are 

 liable to rush from black to white, from yes to no, 

 and how adverse we are to compromise. Possibly 

 we should do best, and we should credit the flowers 

 witli greater efficiency, if we accepted both the old 

 and the new theory —that is to say, if we contrived 

 a strong amalgam of the truths which, to my mind, 

 undoubtedly exist in both. It seems possible that 

 the colour, form, and scent of flowers may repel in 

 some directions and uivite in others — may, in fact, 

 have a dual purpose, and may have had such 

 purpose from the flrst. What proof is there for 

 Mr. Robinson's suggestion that bees, butterflies, 

 and other insects only ' appeared upon the scene ' 

 after the flowers had developed their form, colour, 

 odour, and nectar as protection from browsing 

 animals? — a suggestion which implies that browsing 

 animals are of longer standing than insects. 



Although everything in this world has its 

 enemies, nothing in this world has only enemies. 



