38 VIGNETTES FROM NATURE. 



a distinct meaning, and is itself already the 

 product of much selective action. That the 

 white form, not the red one, is the divergent 

 variety, we may infer from several peculiari- 

 ties, notably from the fact that most of the 

 lychnis tribe have pink flowers, and that no 

 other British species has white ones. 



Suppose, however, that some of these 

 pink campions take (at first by some accident) 

 to opening at night, then they may perhaps 

 chance to attract the eyes of some passing 

 moth, and so to get fertilised by the insect in 

 its search for honey carrying the pollen from 

 head to head. Thus a second generation of 

 night-flowering . campions would be set up, 

 still with bright pink blossoms. But the 

 colour of petals is always more or less vari- 

 able, being only kept straight by functional 

 needs ; and so some of these evening varie- 

 ties would be pretty sure to have more faded 

 and whitish flowers than others, and these 

 would best attract the eyes of the fertilising 

 moths, and oftenest accordingly succeed in 



