3 1 6 Po a ch e rs a n d Po a ch ing. 



who have dipped beneath the surface can con- 

 ceive of the struggle which is going on for 

 existence. Nature's competition is of the keenest 

 kind ; the strongest survive, the weakest go to 

 the wall. Even an object so low in the scale of 

 animal creation as a chrysalis assumes a red coat 

 when it is attached to a bright brick wall, and 

 a grey one when it affixes itself to limestone. 

 This inherent power it has in itself, and those 

 individuals which can most cleverly practise 

 deceit in hiding from birds and other enemies 

 survive and reproduce their kind. 



With regard to instances of variability which 

 come under our immediate notice, the red grouse 

 of our moorlands as already mentioned is a striking 

 example. There can now be no doubt that this is 

 the " willow grouse" of the Scandinavian Penin- 

 sula. Our indigenous bird found itself in an insular 

 position, and has changed from white to speckled 

 red so as to conform to the colour of the heather ; 

 it has also modified the colour of its eggs to suit 

 the changed conditions of its existence. Had it 

 remained white, it would soon have been wiped 

 out of existence by the peregrine and other of 

 the large falcons. There can be no question 

 that bird and animal or insect dons the colour 

 and form best calculated to protect it. Whether 

 this change is conscious to the creature that 

 practises it is beside the main question, and 

 hardly enters into the issue. The process is inva- 



