273 THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES 



and in consequence at the same time beautiful, so that 

 they may be easily observed by insects. I have come 

 to this conclusion from finding it an invariable rule 

 that when a flower is fertilized by the wind it never 

 has a gayly-colored corolla. Several plants habitually 

 produce two kinds of flowers; one kind open and col- 

 ored so as to attract insects; the other closed, not 

 colored, destitute of nectar, and never visited by in- 

 sects. Hence we may conclude that, if insects had 

 not been developed on the face of the earth, our 

 plants would not have been decked with beautiful 

 flowers, but would have produced only such poor flow- 

 ers as we see on our fir, oak, nut and ash trees, on 

 grasses, spinach, docks, and nettles, which are all fer- 

 tilized through the agency of the wind. A similar line 

 of argument holds good with fruits; that a ripe straw- 

 berry or cherry is as pleasing to the eye as to the pal- 

 ate — that the gayly-colored fruit of the spindle-wood tree 

 and the scarlet berries of the holly are beautiful objects 

 — will be admitted by every one. But this beauty serves 

 merely as a guide to birds and beasts, in order that the 

 fruit may be devoured and the matured seeds dissemi- 

 nated: I infer that this is the case from having as yet 

 found no exception to the rule that seeds are always 

 thus disseminated when imbedded within a fruit of any 

 kind (that is within a fleshy or pulpy envelope), if it 

 be colored of any brilliant tint, or rendered conspicuous 

 by being white or black. 



On the other hand, I willingly admit that a great 

 number of male animals, as all our most gorgeous birds, 

 some fishes, reptiles, and mammals, and a host of mag- 

 nificently colored butterflies, have been rendered beauti- 



