Who painted the Flowers? 35 



But how can such an explanation meet the case of 

 colours on the outside of a flower ? And many flowers 

 are painted on the back of their petals as well as on the 

 face, while some, as the Apple-blossom, are painted on 

 the back and not on the front. Mr. Grant Allen gets 

 out of this last difficulty by quietly remarking that the 

 colour has not yet developed to the other side. 1 But 

 if it is useless where it is, how does it survive to develop 

 at all ? 



Again, the same author points out that it is irregular 

 flowers which are variegated, 2 while regular forms (in 

 the case, at least, of wild flowers) are almost always of 

 uniform hue. But if honey-clues were necessary in the 

 case of any flowers, it would be precisely in these latter 

 and not in the former. The difference between a 

 regular and irregular blossom is that between a saucer 

 and cream-jug. In the first there might be some pos- 

 sible difficulty in finding a patch of honey, but in the 

 latter the shape tells the story ; it must be at the bottom. 

 As Sir J. Lubbock himself says, 8 "The advantage of the 

 irregularity [of shape] is that it compels the insects to 

 visit the nectary in one particular manner." An insect 

 which does not know that it has to crawl down a Fox- 

 glove-bell to get what it wants is hardly likely to be 

 conducted to it by an observation of the faint and 

 irregular spots which are scattered beneath its feet. It 

 should be noted, too, that in some flowers (as in the 

 Pinks) the colour-bands run transversely to the course 

 of honey-seeker, and so can do nothing in the way of 

 guidance, while in others, as in Milkwort (Polygala\ 

 where the sepals are the conspicuous part, and are quite 

 as clearly veined as the petals of a Geranium, a pursuit 

 of the colour indications would lead to the place where 

 the honey is not. 



With regard to these honey-clues, has the experiment 

 ever been tried of painting false ones on a flower ? If 

 so, has any insect ever been misled ? If not, does any 



1 Colours oj Flowers, p. 25. 2 P. 6l. 3 P. 80. 



