:: THE EVOLUTIONIST AT LARGE. 



plant, or part of a plant, is injured by such a 

 change of colour, through being rendered 

 more conspicuous to its foes, it soon loses the 

 tendency under the influence of natural selec- 

 tion ; in other words, those individuals which 

 most display it get killed out, while those 

 which least display it survive and thrive. On 

 the other hand, if conspicuousness is an ad- 

 vantage to the plant, the exact opposite hap- 

 pens, and the tendency becomes developed 

 into a confirmed habit. This is the case with 

 the strawberry, as with many other fruits. 

 The more bright-coloured the berry is, the 

 better its chance of getting its fruitlets dis- 

 persed. Birds have quick eyes for colour, 

 especially for red and white ; and therefore 

 almost all edible berries have assumed one or 

 other of these two hues. So long as the 

 fruitlets remain unripe, and would therefore 

 be injured by being eaten, the pulp remains 

 sour, green, and hard ; but as soon as they 

 have become fit for dispersion it grows soft, 

 fills with sugary juice, and acquires its ruddy 



