REPTILIAN LIVERIES. 163 



not an adaptation to defeat the wiles and higher 

 powers of discrimination of its arch-enemies. 



The origin of the "warning colours" of 

 poisonous reptiles is probably a device lately 

 adopted and following on the success attained 

 by creatures which, unarmed, developed dis- 

 tasteful properties rendering them unpalatable 

 to such animals as attempted to prey upon 

 them and then advertised their unpalatability 

 by the display of conspicuous colours. This 

 device by no means assured absolute immunity, 

 since a certain percentage of these conspicuous 

 forms, constantly fell, and still fall, victims to 

 young and inexperienced animals who probably 

 seize them on account of their gaudy colours, 

 just as a child would do. Finding them unpala- 

 table they for ever after leave all animals so 

 coloured severely alone. The general truth of 

 this has been proved by experiment. Though 

 the subjects of the experiments die, only a small 

 percentage are sacrificed, whilst the vast body 

 of survivors have their safety assured. Dis- 

 tasteful ness in itself, without colour, is obviously 

 no protection since it makes no difference to the 

 distasteful animal whether it is tasted and re- 

 jected, or tasted and swallowed, whether it 

 die from injuries received, or whether it die 

 from ingestion; inasmuch as the taster is left 

 to go on repeating the experiment throughout 

 its life from inability to ' distinguish distasteful 

 from palatable forms. 



For similar reasons, poisonous properties, in 

 themselves, are no protection where protection 

 is required. If the poisonous animal be attacked 



