14 Mr. Grant Aliens Botanical Fables 



for granted to start with, and, as I have already said, 

 instead of the theory being educed from the facts, the 

 facts are made to square with the theory. 



Some very curious principles are likewise introduced 

 which assist in the fashion of a deus ex machina over 

 many an awkward stile. Thus, talking of the plumage 

 of birds, we are told 1 that "it is probable that an 

 aesthetic taste for pure and dazzling hues [in the plumage 

 of their mates] is almost confined to those creatures 

 which, like butterflies, humming-birds, and parrots, 

 seek their livelihood amongst beautiful fruits and 

 flowers." Indeed ! Do bees fall short of butterflies 

 in this respect? The most beautiful beetles feed on 

 filth; the goldfinch on thistle-seeds; the kingfisher on 

 minnows and bull-heads. 



But another question arises. If there be the alleged 

 connexion between the colours admired in mates and 

 those which are found in articles of food, should it not 

 follow that those creatures which admire any particular 

 colours in the world outside should likewise consider 

 them additions to the beauty of their own race ? And 

 if so, how about men? Mr. Grant Allen tells us 

 whence they acquire their appreciation of the various 

 hues which meet their eyes : 2 " The reason why we 

 consider these colours pretty seems to me obvious. 

 We are the descendants of ancient arboreal ancestors, 

 who sought their food among bright orange and blue 

 and crimson fruits in tropical forests; 3 and those 

 fruits were specially coloured to allure their eyes, just 

 as the speedwells and primroses and buttercups are 

 specially coloured to allure the eyes of bee or butterfly. 

 And further, as the eyes of the bees are so developed 

 that these colours attract them, the eyes of our pre- 

 human ancestors must have been so developed as to 

 be attracted by the similar colours of oranges and 

 mangoes, and tertiary plums or peaches." 



1 Evolutionist at Large, p. 194. 2 Vignettes , p. 86. 



3 See more on this subject in the Essay, How Theories are 

 Manufactured. 



