Robinson on Protective Colouring 



by animals are of direct utility to them, 

 and are therefore the direct result of natural 

 selection; a few would add, "and of sexual 

 selection." 



"Among the numerous applications of the 

 Darwinian theory," writes Wallace, " in the 

 interpretation of the complex phenomena, none 

 have been more successful than those which 

 deal with the colours of animals and plants." 



We readily admit that the Darwinian theory 

 has thrown a great deal of light on the pheno- 

 menon of animal colouration ; it has reduced to 

 something like order what was before Darwin's 

 time chaos. While admitting this we feel con- 

 strained to say that many naturalists, especially 

 Dr Wallace and Professor Poulton, have pushed 

 the various theories of animal colouration to 

 absurd lengths. As Dr H. Robinson truly says 

 {Knowledge, January 1909), "It seems to have 

 been taken for granted, and some even of 

 Dr Wallace's writings may be interpreted in 

 this sense, that protective colouring is necessary 

 to the continued existence of every species, and 

 that, sexual colouration apart, it is incumbent on 

 naturalists to offer ingenious speculations in this 

 sense to account for the appearance even of the 

 most bizarre and conspicuous beasts. Thence it 

 has been but a short step to the announcement 

 of those speculations as further evidence in favour 

 of natural selection, and of various assumptions 



171 



