490 Allex, The Concealing Coloration Queslion. LOct. 



ies. It is the thinker rather, never the mere observer. It must be 

 admitted, I think, that Hght on scientific problems sometimes comes 

 from the outside, that is from outside the group of workers who 

 fancy themselves the only ones who know anything about their 

 specialty. Of course we welcome the light no matter what its 

 source, even though it may come from one who has given most 

 of his life to art rather than to science, even though that artist 

 may have adopted a far from deferential tone towards the natural- 

 ists whom he is trying to convince. 



I cannot help thinking that Mr. Thayer (to save trouble I shall 

 speak of him in the singular number) has prejudiced his case 

 among ornithologists not a little by the manner in which he has 

 presented it. Even more prejudicial than the rather arrogant atti- 

 tude he seems to take in regard to the relative claims of the artist 

 and the biologist to be entitled to form an opinion on the subject 

 of coloration, — even more prejudicial, if less irritating, is the — 

 shall I call it cocksure? — way in which mere conjectures are stated 

 as facts. His book would have gained much in weight, I think, 

 if a proper distinction had been made between those propositions 

 which were in some sort susceptible of proof and those that should 

 have been put forth only as suggestions. Nevertheless, though 

 the book is far from being a safe guide for the uninstructed, it 

 ought to be possible for scientific men to read it in an unprejudiced 

 spirit, making all proper allowances for the ' artistic temperament ' 

 that shaped its form. It is a regrettable fact, however, that some 

 reviewers have seemed to be more intent upon bringing Mr. Thayer 

 into ridicule than on arriving at the real facts in the case of con- 

 cealing coloration. 'Seemed' I say, for, though perhaps I do 

 them an injustice, that is the impression a reader is bound to carry 

 away with him. Ridicule is a powerful weapon and the temptation 

 to use it unsparingly is a strong one. But I want to ask fair 

 treatment for Mr. Thayer. Even if we don't agree with him, it is 

 not necessary either to cut him into little pieces or to break every 

 bone in his body with the ' big stick.' 



If we adopt a fair attitude towards Mr. Thayer and his book, 

 we must begin by admitting that by virtue of his profession he 

 is an expert in all matters pertaining to color. A scientific man 

 may know all the artist knows about the laws of light and color, 



