334 THE WORLD OF LIFE 



into a boundless flower-garden, which supplies him from year to 

 year with pollen or honey, and itself in turn gains perpetuation by 

 the baits it offers for his allurement." 



Although I wholly agree with my lamented friend in attrib- 

 uting the origin and development of flowers to the visits of 

 insects, and the consequent advantage of rendering many spe- 

 cies of flowers conspicuous and unlike others flowering at the 

 same time, thus avoiding the waste and injury of the frequent 

 crossing of distinct species, yet I do not consider that the 

 whole of the phenomena of colour in nature is thereby ex- 

 plained. 



In my book on Tropical E'ature I devoted two chapters to 

 the Colours of Animals and Plants, and I opened the discussion 

 with the following remarks, which indicate my present views 

 on the subject. I will, therefore, give a few passages here: 



" There is probably no one quality of natural objects from which 

 we derive so much pure intellectual enjoyment as from their col- 

 ours. The heavenly blue of the firmament, the glowing tints of 

 sunset, the exquisite purity of the snowy mountains, and the end- 

 less 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 constitute, as it were, but the 

 frame and background of a marvellous 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 the most varied hues. 

 Flowers, insects, and birds are the organisms most generally orna- 

 mented 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 them to be objects of universal admiration. 

 The relation of this wealth of colour to our mental and moral na- 

 ture 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 wholly ben- 

 eficial. It can then hardly excite surprise that this relation was 

 long thought to afford a sufficient explanation of the phenomena 



