COLOURS OF FLOWERS 



that petals and stamens become yellowish or pure white 

 because they do not form green colouring matter like 

 ordinary leaves. 



It is also known that on the Alps or on any high moun- 

 tain, where the air is pure and the sun strong, flowers 

 become rich, brilliant, and vivid. In such places as the 

 "Jardin" near Mont Blanc, the pure, deep, rich blue of 

 gentians, the crimsons, reds, and purples of other flowers, 

 impress the most casual and unobservant traveller. " White 

 and red, yellow and blue, brown and green stand side by 

 side on a hand's breadth of space." In that strong mountain 

 air, also, perfumes are stronger, purer, and of finer quality 

 than in the lowlands. There is a more intense, active, and 

 vigorous life going on in flowers than is required by 

 the more prosaic industries in other parts of a plant. 

 Flowers also often live at a higher temperature than the 

 surrounding air. 



Kerner has described how the little flowers of Soldanella 

 penetrate the snow by actually melting a passage for them- 

 selves through it (see p. 103). 



This high temperature and vigorous life, shown also by 

 the rapid transpiration of flowers,^ seems to hint that 

 colours and perfumes appear in consequence of rapid chemical 

 transformations.^ 



It was, of course, by degrees that the extraordinary varia- 

 tion in colour, which exists in nature, came about. No 

 doubt bees, bumble-bees, wasps, and the more intelligent 

 flies were improved and developed aesthetically. We can 

 almost tell by looking at a flower what sort of insect prob- 

 ably visits it. 



* Pharmaceutioal Journal^ May 20th, 1899. 



■^ Buscalioni e Traverse, Atti del 1st. Bot. di Pavia, vol. 10, 1904. 



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