96 THE VALUE OF COLOUK 



and by such association to give proper dignity to every 

 branch of natural science.' l 



The great naturalist, W. J. Burchell, in his 

 classical work shows the same recognition of 

 adaptation in nature at a still earlier date. Upon 

 the subject of collections he wrote 2 : 



' It must not be supposed that these charms [the pleasures 

 of Nature] are produced by the mere discovery of new 

 objects : it is the harmony with which they have been 

 adapted by the Creator to each other, and to the situations 

 in which they are found, which delights the observer in 

 countries where Art has not yet introduced her discords.' 



The remainder of the passage is so admirable 

 that I venture to quote it : 



'To him who is satisfied with amassing collections of 

 curious objects, simply for the pleasure of possessing them, 

 such objects can afford, at best, but a childish gratification, 

 faint and fleeting ; while he who extends his view beyond 

 the narrow field of nomenclature, beholds a boundless ex- 

 panse, the exploring of which is worthy of the philosopher, 

 and of the best talents of a reasonable being. ' 



On Sept. 14, 1811, Burchell was at Zand Valley 

 (Vlei), or Sand Pool, a few miles south-west of 

 the site of Prieska, on the Orange Kiver. Here 

 he found a Mesembryanthemum (M. turbiniforme, 

 now M. truncatum) and also a Gryllus (Acridian), 

 closely resembling the pebbles with which their 

 locality was strewn. He says of both of these, 



1 From History and Arrangement of the Ashmolean Museum, by 

 P. B. Duncan, A Catalogue of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 

 (1836), vi, vii. 



2 Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa, London, i. (1822), 

 505. The references to Burchell's observations in the present 

 essay are adapted from the author's article in Report of the British 

 and South African Associations, 1905, iii. 57-110. 



