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36 CHELTENHAM COLLEGE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
small birds that frequent the marshes, and so would have little chance 
of escape if he were a conspicuous object with an individuality of his 
own ; whereas the hornet is a formidable insect, and the small bird 
knows by bitter experience that he has a sting, so the clear-wing has 
dressed himself like a hornet and goes on his way rejoicing, unless he 
chance to meet with a small boy who regards neither hornet nor 
other beast. 
But how did he manage to do it? You see we are getting back 
to our old friend “ evolution,” or ‘‘ Mother Carey ” as Kingsley calls 
it, that wonderful power which makes new beasts out of old, and 
always takes care that the new ones shall be better fitted for their 
struggle in life than the old. 
It all comes from that curious power of variation, which makes 
one cock sparrow a little different from his brother, and that little 
extra length of wing, or extra bit of cheek, which enables one to 
escape the clutch of the hawk, or pick up the bit of bread off the 
crowded crossing, while his brother failed, and so transmitting the 
new characteristic to his descendants (for like breeds like) to form 
gradually a race better fitted for the life that it has to live. 
In this way creatures changed and developed enormously, of 
course it all took a long time, much longer than we can conceive. 
Some of you know how long it takes a gardener to produce a new 
flower, or a farmer to make a new breed of cattle with careful selection 
at every generation, and the time taken for Nature’s unconscious 
selection must be infinitely longer. 
Now of all characteristics of animals, colour is the most variable. To 
take a familiar instance. How differently different people’s hair is 
coloured? In this case the colours vary quite at random. Babies 
with brown hair are looked after quite as well as those with golden, 
and so both are equally likely to survive. The colours of wild animals 
do not change in this way, but this is easily explained. Their colours are 
of two sorts,. protective and warning. Small and defenceless animals 
are coloured, so as to escape the notice of their foes, e.g. the rabbit, 
the hedge-sparrow, and the grass-hopper, while predatory animals, 
such as the wolf, need the same protection to approach their victims. 
Some creatures on the other hand which are unpleasant to the 
taste, or are eaters of carrion or lifeless food are gaily painted to warn 
off others from attacking them. Snch are the magpie, the skunk, 
and many butterflies. 
Now any change in the colour of most wild animals would serve 
to make them more conspicuous, and would generally cost the 
