68 AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 



extravagance of theologians. Really, there ought not to be 

 need of appealing to anything except common sense when 

 we are asked to consider some of the vagaries of the ultra 

 concealing-coloratlonlsts. One of their latest fads Is that 

 white Is a concealing color, even at night; that beasts with 

 white sterns, like so many ruminants and rodents, are con- 

 cealed from their foes at night by their white sterns because 

 white Is Invisible against the sky-line. War-ships in time 

 of war are most often seen against the sky-line, and are 

 always so seen by torpedo-boats, which It is the especial 

 object of the big ships to elude at night. Well, no naval 

 officer in his senses would dream of painting his ship white 

 so as to escape observation at night under any normal con- 

 ditions; as soon as war comes all ships are painted some 

 neutral tint, because as a matter of actual experience every 

 one recognizes the fact that, taking into effect moonless and 

 moonlit nights and all cloud effects and weather condi- 

 tions, white is on the average the most revealing or adver- 

 tising of all colors at night. In the old days, on the West- 

 ern ranches, we always preferred white horses for night 

 work whenever It was desired to be conspicuous. Scien- 

 tists ought not to show less common sense than naval men 

 and cow punchers. 



Of course, every color and every conceivable combination 

 of colors may under some circumstances be concealing or 

 revealing, even although under ordinary conditions the re- 

 verse is true. It is a question of averages. There are 

 nights when no color can be seen, and then the color is a 

 negligible factor. There are other nights or portions of 

 nights when under some given conditions of background 

 or cloud effect or position of the moon, black or brown or 



