48 



turn caught by the fishermen who know their htile weaknesses. 

 And every shoal of herrings is pursued by mackerel, codfish, and 

 dolphins ; and the unfortunate outsiders are seized, and those who 

 crowd for safety in the middle near the surface are snapped up by 

 gannets and gulls. What species of plant or fish could survive if 

 each produced only one or two germs. Curious calculations are 

 found in some books on birds concerning the number of caterpillars 

 they devour, and the reader is supposed to draw the conclusion that 

 the birds are appointed to keep down certain classes of insects 

 which otherwise might become a pest to man. But the birds ate 

 caterpillars long before man was brought upon the scene. 



The house sparrow has been credited with bringing to the nest 

 " forty grubs per hour, making an average exceeding 3,000 in the 

 course of a week" (Wood). A pair of blue titmice have been 

 credited with destroying 500 caterpillars daily, " being a minimum 

 of 15,000 during the few weeks employed in rearing their young. 

 (Ibid.) 



Now it is all very well perhaps to imagine the sparrow and the 

 titmouse to be the appointed scourges of the insect race. But we 

 may look at it in two other ways ; first, how would these birds fare 

 if the insects did not multiply by thousands ? and secondly, how 

 would the insect race be otherwise preserved under such circum- 

 stances ? 



And once again what becomes of the Malthusian increase of 

 animals beyond food when in this case the food multiplies in a far 

 higher geometrical ratio than the birds ? Grant Allen triumph- 

 antly remarks " Aut Malthus aut Biabolm," to which I can only 

 answer " Not Malthus." 



Besides, there is a similar abundance and apparent superfluity 

 in other departments ; and we must apply the ssme reasoning in 

 both cases. Look at the excessive abundance of pollen produced 

 by anemophilous plants ; we can all see that it is because of the 

 multitude of chances against any individual grain reaching the 

 stigma. Sir John Lubbock says that with wind-fertilised flowers 

 " by far the greater part of the pollen is wasted ; and mach more 

 must therefore be produced than in those cases where the transfer- 

 ence is effected by insects." 



A single head of dandelion has produced 240,000 grains of pollen, 

 two or three of which would suffice to fertilize each ovule. "It 

 has been stated" says Balfour " that' a single plant of Wistaria 

 Sinensis produced 5,750,000 stamens, and these, if perfect, would 

 contain 27,000,000,000 grains. In a single flower of Maxillaria 

 F. Muller estimated the pollen grains at 84,000,000. This same 

 flower produces 1,756,000 seeds." 



Why ? Surely because of the risks against success. But on 



