356 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 
Lubbock, in his British Wild Flowers im 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 Noctuz, 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.c., pp. 20 and 158). 
“Thus Sarcophaga 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 (ji.¢., 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 

