THE 
AMERICAN NATURALIST. 
Vou. xr. — NOVEMBER, 1877. — No. 11. 
THE COLORS OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS. 
BY ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE. 
I. THE COLORS OF ANIMALS. 
HERE is probably no one quality of natural objects from 
which we derive so much pure and intellectual enjoyment as 
from their colors. The“ heavenly ” blue of the firmament, the 
glowing tints of sunset, the exquisite purity of the snowy mount- 
ains, and the endless shades of green presented by the verdure- 
clad surface of the earth, are a never-failing source of pleasure 
to all who enjoy the inestimable gift of sight. Yet these consti- 
tute, as it were, but the frame and background of a marvelous 
and ever-changing picture. In contrast with these broad and 
soothing tints, we have presented to us, in the vegetable and 
‘animal worlds, an infinite variety of objects adorned with the 
most beautiful and most varied hues. Flowers, insects, and birds 
are the organisms most generally ornamented in this way; and 
their symmetry of form, their variety of structure, and the lavish 
abundance with which they clothe and enliven the earth cause 
m to be objects of universal admiration. The relation of this 
Wealth of color to our mental and moral nature is indisputable. 
The child and the savage alike admire the gay tints of flower, 
bird, and insect; while to many of us their contemplation brings 
a solace and enjoyment which is both intellectually and morally 
beneficial. It can then hardly excite surprise that this relation was 
long thought to afford a sufficient explanation of the phenomena 
of color in nature, and although the fact that 
2 “Full many a flower is born to blush unseen 
à And waste its sweetness on the desert air” 
might seem to throw some doubt on the sufficiency of the expla- 
nation, the answer was easy: that, in the progress of discovery, 
1 From Macmillan’s Magazine. 
itp nN WE? 
r Copyright, 1877, by A. 8. PACKARD, JR. 
