268 



FLASHLIGHTS ON NATURE 



and as the branches of gorse are green like the 

 leaves, both perform the same feeding function. 



In No. 5 I have chosen for illustration and 

 comparison a full-grown shoot of the common- 

 scented yellow 

 genista, so often 

 grown in pots 

 as a table decora- 

 tion. This pretty 

 shrub begins in 

 life so much like 

 a gorse-bush,that 

 if I were to show 

 you very youth- 

 ful seedlings of 

 both, you could 

 hardly discrimi- 

 nate them. That 

 is to say, in all 

 probability, both 

 are descendants 

 of a common an- 

 cestor which had 

 trefoil leaves and 

 bright yellow pea- 

 flowers. But the 

 scented genistas 



happened to find their lot cast in inaccessible 

 places, on cliffs or crags, where defence against 

 browsing animals was practically unnecessary ; 

 while our ruder northern gorse had its lines laid 

 on rough upland moors, where every passing beast 



NO. 5. ITS FIRST COUSIN, THE GENISTA. 



