The Making of Species 



upon the surfaces of the protecting leaves round 

 the seed-making parts of the original flowers. 

 As these leaves became more efficiently protective 

 by assuming colours, shapes, and markings which 

 warned animals of their character, so their 

 apparatus for producing scent and honey became 

 specialised ; and at this point the insect appeared 

 upon the scene as a factor in the life's success of 

 the plant." 



Such, then, is Kay Robinson's bold and original 

 theory. In some respects it seems far-fetched. 

 The natural inclination is to ask, " Is it possible 

 that cattle can be so stupid, so blind, as to really 

 believe that a snap-dragon is the mouth of an 

 animal, or that an orchid is a spider ? " 



At present we know so little of animal psy- 

 chology that we are not yet in a position to give 

 an answer to this question. Horses, we know, 

 are apt to be frightened by the most harmless 

 things, such as a piece of brown paper lying on 

 the road. Mr Robinson's theory should give a 

 stimulus to the study of the mind of animals 

 a study which, if properly undertaken, will 

 probably throw a flood of light upon some of 

 the problems of evolution. Mr Robinson's theory 

 equally with the ordinarily-accepted hypothesis, 

 utterly fails to explain the first origins of colours, 

 scents, etc. When once a flower has acquired a 

 certain amount of colour, it is easy to understand 

 how that flower may attract insects or repel 



272 



