BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION n 



three cards were nailed to the stick to give more 

 substance, and it will be seen that the top of each 

 card shows white as it catches the light from 

 above. 



How do the white forms of animal life deal 

 with this revealing reflection of top light? By 

 invariably taking up a position inhere the top 

 light is cut off. 



This is well illustrated in the accompanying 

 colour photograph of the white anemone (Acti- 

 noloba dianthus). The top illustration shows 

 this anemone just commencing to open. For 

 this photograph the anemone was placed in an 

 unnatural position to illustrate how conspicu- 

 ous it was when reflecting top light. In the 

 middle photograph the same anemone, shown 

 closed, has moved on to the side of a stone under 

 the shelter of a shelving rock. The top light 

 was now cut off, and the white anemone reflected 

 its surroundings and appeared green. 



Even in the event of the top light not being 

 completely cut off, a white object is often con- 

 cealed by partial reflection of the surroundings. 

 For example, in the bottom illustration the same 

 anemone is shown attached to a block of granite. 

 The stem of the anemone is catching the light 



