Mr. Grant Allen s Botanical Fables 9 



near one another is a question requiring a great 

 deal of very close and clever observation for its 

 solution. 1 



But this is somewhat of a digression. The Arum 

 is made to tell us a story which bears remarkably on 

 that already related by the Strawberry. The former 

 plant is not merely "one of the earliest flower-forms 

 now existing on the earth," but probably the most 

 virulent specimen of plant life that exists, at least 

 on English ground, so virulent indeed that I hope 

 none of my readers will ever dare to masticate even 

 a small portion of its large glossy arrow-shaped leaves. 

 The fruits are of the quality of the plant, and these 

 fruits turn when ripe to a rich red colour, till they 

 form "a beautiful cluster of living coral." 2 When 

 speaking of the Strawberry fruit, Mr. Allen tells us 

 that "birds have quick eyes for colour, especially for 

 red and white ; and, therefore, almost all edible berries 

 have assumed one or other of these hues." 3 But, 

 if this be true, how comes it that so very /^edible 

 a berry comes to appear in the favoured hue? Mr. 

 Allen is at once ready with the answer. Its object, 

 he tells us, is to attract the animal world in the 

 shape of field-mice, squirrels, and small birds, but 

 with treacherous intent : ' ' For though these berries be 

 beautiful and palatable enough, they are deadly 

 poison. The robins and small rodents which eat 

 them, attracted by their bright colour and pleasant 

 taste, not only aid in dispersing them, but also die 

 after swallowing them, and become huge manure 

 heaps for the growth of the young plant." ^ 



As to which, in the first place, if this be so, how 

 have the robins and field-mice got on in the race of 

 life if they have developed this insensate habit of 

 rushing like so many bulls at everything scarlet? 



1 Since writing the above in 1882, I have convinced myself 

 that the Arum kills the flies which visit it, and absorbs their 

 more succulent portions into its own substance. 



2 Evolutionist, p. 86. 3 Ibid. p. 22. 4 Ibid. p. 86. 



