158 BIRDS AND MAN 



sperous successe and good fortune to the wearer 

 in all his affayres." 



In conclusion, after having adopted this new 

 idea, my view is still that the human association 

 is the principal factor in the expression of the blue 

 flower, or at all events in a majority of flowers that 

 bloom more or less sparingly and are usually seen 

 as single blooms, not as mere splashes of colour. 

 Such are the pansy, violet, speedwell, hairbell, 

 lungwort, blue geranium, etc. It may be that in 

 all flowers of this kind too an element in the ex- 

 pression is due to the fair-weather associations 

 with the colour ; but these associations must be 

 very much stronger in the case of a blue flower 

 always seen in masses and sheets of colour as the 

 wild hyacinth. Among dark- eyed races the fair- 

 weather associations would alone give the blue 

 flower its expression. I shouldn't wonder, if 

 some explorer with a curious mind would try to 

 find out what savages feel about flowers, that he 

 would discover in them a special regard for the blue 

 flower. 



