THE OBIGIN OF FLORAL STRUCTURES. 315 



probing for nectar, coupled with the absence of all strain upon the 

 sides." The " guides " and " pathfinders " which show the way to 

 the treasury of nectar in many flowers, the different enations and 

 trichomes which in the form of hairy whorls, woolly tangles, and 

 processes producing viscid secretions, bar the path of unwelcome 

 guests— all these and many other puzzling structures are described 

 as the immediate results of the irritations set up by the insects 

 themselves* 



But enough has been said to show the nature of the ingenious 

 theory which runs all through the book, which lends itself to 

 innumerable applications, and which seems to form a very plausible 

 solution of many botanical difficulties. The strangest part of this 

 startling hypothesis is that it makes the floral world of to-day with 

 its brilliant hues and infinitely varied beauty of structure, to result 

 from wounds and bruises, malformation and deformity, in the 

 parent flowers of the olden time. The fanciful analogist might 

 find pleasure in reflecting that the strength and freedom of some 

 great nations are the result to some extent of the sword-cuts, rifle- 

 wounds, and bayonet stabs bravely endured by the creators of those 

 states, and that therefore it is entirely in accordance with the 

 fitness of things that the present state of the vegetable kingdom 

 should have been moulded by the stabs and punctures, blows and 

 scars, patiently received by the ancient heroes of the floral world. 

 The paradox of yesterday is the truism of to-day, and so in nature 

 what is a startling abnormality in one age, becomes the recognised 

 norm of the next. Prof. Henslow himself speaks of one variation 

 ^ a " pathological phenomenon which has become fixed and here- 

 ditary/ 1 and in truth his theory would show that the Pathology of 

 the progenitors is the Physiology of their posterity, and that what 

 ^ included in our present Morphology belonged in ages gone by to 

 the domain of Teratology. Prof. Henslow's theory is in fact a dis- 

 tinct adoption of the suggestion made in the last words of Dr. 

 Masters' classic work on Teratology, so long ago as 1869 : — " That 

 Monstrosities so-called may become the starting points of new 

 forms is proved by the circumstance that, in many cases, the pecu- 

 liarities are inherited so that a new 'race' is produced and 

 Perpetuated ; and if a new race, why not a new species ? The 

 difference is one of degree only." The obligations (always duly 

 acknowledged) of the present work to Dr. Masters are very 

 numerous ; and it is much to be hoped that, as one result of the 

 attention which the Insect-selection theory is sure to receive, we may 

 h;tve a new edition of the "Teratology/' which will give us in 

 ^glish the valuable additions now to be found only in the German 

 edition of 1886. This would be a great boon to many students 

 ^ho read English more readily than German, and who are unable 

 to obtain the scarce first edition published by the Ray Society. 



There is but little space left to chronicle the many other merits 

 of Prof. Henslow's book. Quite apart from the interesting theory 

 which gives life and colour to the old work, it has much value as a 

 j-ehable compendium of the best and latest information available on 

 flo *al structures and fertilisation, and it also supplies some inter- 



