SEXUAL COLORATION. 281 



•dances and displays already referred to ; he poiats ont that 

 accessory plumes, so often found in the male sex, are commonly 

 placed above the most powerful muscles. Such plumes are 

 in themselves — apart from their use on the theory of " preferen- 

 tial mating " — often not only useless, but injurious to their 

 possessor. The horns of a stag are beautiful, and useful for 

 fighting ; but we are reminded by ^Esop that they entangled 

 their possessor in the boughs of the forest ; like the long hair 

 ■of Absalom, also a sexual adornment. The very fact that these 

 structures are so greatly developed in certain species is " an 

 indication of such perfect adaptation to the conditions of exist- 

 ence, such complete success in the battle of life, that there is, 

 in the adult male at all events, a surplus of strength, vitality, 

 .and growth-power, which is able to expend itself in this way 

 without injury." 



Mr. Wallace also brings forward an argument, which shows 

 . that female preference can hardly bs responsible for sexual 

 diversity of this kind. Natural selection, or rather natural 

 •elimination, is continually removing unfit varieties ; there are 

 but few survivors out of each season's eggs ; and one of the 

 very important qualities for which birds are selected is that 

 they shotild be well able to discharge their duties towards 

 their offspring. " This extremely rigid action of natural selec- 

 tion must render any attempt to select mere ornament utterly 

 nugatory, unless the most ornamented always coincide with 

 * the fittest ' in every other respect ; while, if they do so coin- 

 cide, then any selection of ornament is altogether superfluous. 

 If the most brightly-coloured and fuUest-plumaged males are 

 not the most healthy and vigorous, have not the best instincts 

 for the proper construction and concealment of the nest, and 

 for the care and protection of the young, they are certainly not 

 the fittest, and will not survive, or be the parents of survivors. 



