VIII 



CASES OF ADAPTATION 



147 



pleasure-gardens which will not be destroyed or rendered 

 hideous by the destructiveness and greed of civilised man. 

 When much of the beauty and luxuriance of nature has 

 been banished from milder regions, these inhospitable 

 Arctic lands will long remain in their wild luxuriance of 

 summer beauty, where those who truly love nature will be 

 able to witness one of the most wonderful illustrations of the 



Fig. 21. — The Higher Tundra. 

 Stanavialachta at mouth of the Petchora River (N. Lat. 69°). 



» myriad forms and complex adaptations which the world of 

 life presents to us. 

 It is a significant feature of this adaptation, that of all 

 the higher forms of life, birds are the most completely 

 protected from the blood-sucking and irritation of mosquitoes. 

 Every part of the body is protected either with a dense 

 mass of plumage, or by a horny integument on the bill and 

 feet, so that they are probably quite undisturbed while 

 enjoying the superabundant feast nature has spread for 

 them in those remote and usually repellent lands. We may 

 conclude, therefore, that it is to the two special features of 

 these Arctic tundras — their abundant berries preserved 

 during the winter in a natural ice-house, and the myriad 



