90 SYMBIOSIS 



as the bio-economic law of Reciprocity. Speaking of the lucerne's 

 " search to ensure its future," he says that the plants having been 

 deceived in the spiral, the yellow lucerne added pits or hooks 

 to it, " saying to itself, not unreasonably, that since its leaves 

 attract the sheep, it is unavoidable and right that the sheep 

 should assume the care of its progeny." 



" And lastly," he continues, "is it not thanks to this new 

 effort and to this happy thought that the lucerne with yellow 

 flowers is infinitely more widely distributed than its sturdier 

 cousin whose flowers are red ? " 



I would only add the explanation that the fact of the lucerne's 

 leaves being attractive to the sheep is not an accident, but is 

 closely connected with those fundamental symbiotic amenities 

 that keep going the life of plants and animals alike. We need 

 not impute Maeterlinck's identical reasoning to the plants, so long 

 as we make allowance for the existence in plants of a symbiotic 

 sense, with all it entails in Bio-morality. 



Again, in the case of the lettuce, Maeterlinck adduces an 

 example showing how essential is the recognition of the concepts 

 of biological " right " and biological " duty." The cultivated 

 lettuce is one of the plants that have ceased to defend themselves. 

 In its wild stage, if we grow a stalk or leaf, we see a white juice 

 exude from it, the latex, a substance formed by various matters, 

 which vigorously defend the plant against the assaults of the 

 slugs. On the other hand, in cultivated species derived from the 

 former, the latex is almost missing, and they fall a prey to 

 slugs. 



Shall we not say that it is indeed the duty of the cultivator 

 to defend the cultivated " specialised " form in return for extra 

 services received and in accordance with the unwritten laws of 

 Symbiosis ? Every new symbiotic relation, I contend, requires 

 new and redistributed services, as it brings in its train new 

 organic forms. The case is not dissimilar to that ot new dis- 

 coveries by man, which, as Prof. Bergson believes, are often 

 instrumental in producing new types of humanity. 



Although more than once approaching the recognition of a 

 bio-economic law of reciprocity, Maeterlinck however does 

 not see dearly enough to follow up the threads consistently. He 

 goes off instead at a tangent, identifying the sober symbiotic 

 needs of cross-fertilising insects with the " passions " cf others, 

 and interpreting the laws of " organic civilisation ' as " destiry." 





