The Making of Species 



see at once the great use of this small blackish 

 flower in the middle. It looks like an insect, and 

 possibly in the home of the wild carrot there is 

 some minute blackish insect with a peculiarly 

 villainous smell or taste or perhaps a potent 

 sting which grazing animals carefully avoid 

 whenever they can see it. Thus the wild carrot 

 flourishes ; though here in Britain where the wild 

 carrot has established itself now we may fail at 

 first to see the exact meaning of the trick. I 

 think, however, that, when we understand it, it 

 fits admirably into the theory that the shapes 

 and colours of flowers are primarily useful as 

 deterrents to grazing and browsing animals and 

 not as attractions to insects. 



" Thus we see," he concludes, "that the queer 

 shapes of these orchids, which are a great stum- 

 bling-block in the way of those who preach that 

 we owe the shapes of flowers to the tastes of 

 insects, become a strong confirmation of my 

 theory that we owe the shapes of flowers to graz- 

 ing and browsing animals." 



Of the nectar of flowers, Kay Robinson 

 writes : " Since this is eagerly sought for by 

 hosts of insects, whose visits are in most cases 

 useful to the flowers, it seems only natural to 

 suppose that we see cause and effect in this 

 connection. 



" Here, however, I will outline my theory of 

 the origin of nectar and of flowers in general. 



270 



