Address of A. R. Wallace at the Glasgow Meeting. 369 
ing season; while most of the other plants of the island have 
colorless flowers in accordance with the almost total absence of 
winged insects. The presence of many large and showy flowers 
among the indigenous flora of St. Helena must be an example | 
of a similar persistence. Mr. Melliss indeed states it to be “a 
remarkable peculiarity that the indigenous flowers are, with 
very slight exceptions, all perfectly colorless ;"* but ‘although 
this may apply to the general aspect of the remains of the indi- 
genous flora, it is evidently not the case as regards the species, 
since the interesting plates of Mr. Melliss’s volume show that 
about one-third of the indigenous flowering plants have more or 
€ss colored or conspicuous flowers, while several of them are 
exceedingly showy and beautiful. Among these are a Lobelia, 
three Wahlenbergias, several Composite, and especially the hand- 
some red flowers of the now almost extinct forest-trees, -. 
have every reason to believe, however, that when St. Helena 
was covered with luxuriant forests, and especially at that re- 
mote period when it was much more extensive than it is now, 
itmust have supported a certain number of indigenous birds 
and insects, which would have aided in the fertilization of these 
aily-colored flowers. The researches of Dr. Hermann Miiller 
ave shown us by what minute modification of structure or of 
function many flowers are adapted for partial insect and self- 
fertilization in varying degrees, so that we have no difficulty in 
understanding how, as the insects diminished and finally disap- 
ted, self-fertilization may have become the rule, while the 
arge and showy corollas remain to tell us plainly of a once 
different state of things 
v 
; } : : : 
1Presentatives of totally different tribes of this extensive order 
ming arborescent in each group of islands. The immense 
o an advantage to gain increased size and longevity, so that 
*rtilization at an interval of several years might suffice for the 
®ontinuance of the species. The arborescent form would com- 
ie * Melliss’s St. Helena, p. 226, note. 
Jour. Sct.—Tarmp Serres, VoL. XII, No. 71.—Nov., 1876. 
24 
