230 THE LOG OF THE SUN 



this discovery is not original with us, for a little 

 creature has long ago found out the fondness of 

 bees and other insects for these flowers and has 

 put his knowledge to good use. 



One day I saw what I thought was a swelling 

 on one part of the flower, but a closer look showed 

 it was a living spider. Here was protective 

 colouring carried to a wonderful degree. The 

 body of the spider was white and glistening, like 

 the texture of the white flower on which he 

 rested. On his abdomen were two pink, oblong 

 spots of the same tint and shape as the pinkened 

 tips of the false petals. Only by an accident could 

 he be discovered by a bird, and when I focussed 

 my camera, I feared that the total lack of contrast 

 would make the little creature all but invisible. 



Confident with the instinct handed down 

 through many generations, the spider trusted im- 

 plicitly to his colour for safety and never moved, 

 though I placed the lens so close that it threw a 

 life-sized image on the ground-glass. When all 

 was ready, and before I had pressed the bulb, 

 the thought came to me whether this wonderful 

 resemblance should be attributed to the need of 

 escaping from insectivorous birds, or to the in- 

 creased facility with which the spider would be 

 able to catch its prey. At the very instant of mak- 

 ing the exposure, before I could will the stopping 

 of the movement of my fingers, if I had so wished, 

 my question was answered. A small, iridescent, 



