30 
The Parasites of Civilisation . 
[July, 
go to the real root of the difficulty. Every farmer and every 
gardener wages against weeds a war far more, geneial and 
systematic than that carried on by dealers against the oa i- 
fern, the beech-fern, or the lily of the valley. Yet the weeds 
survive in the face of this crusade, whilst the beautilul 
plants do not. , . ,, , 
One point, indeed, must be remembered, viz., that our 
lovely wild flowers and ferns are limited in their choice ot 
localities. The devastation of our woodlands deprives them, 
in many cases, of the only spots they can inhabit, whilst 
the weeds can accommodate themselves to changes ot soi 
and exposure. But this is no explanation ; it is merely a 
restatement of the question. We have still to ask why our 
beautiful wild plants have, as compared with weeds, so little 
tenacity and adaptability ? ... 
In comparing beautiful birds or inserts with vermin, we 
meet the very same difficulty. The sparrow can outlast an 
amount of slaughter or capture, far more than enough to 
sweep away the nightingale, the goldfinch, or the king s er 
not merely from Britain, but from the entire earth, t he 
hawk-moths and red underwings are perishing beneath the 
attacks of collectors ; but the cabbage-whites, the cabbage- 
moth, and the magpie-moth seem little afferted by tie 
wholesale slaughter of their larvae which are carefully picked 
off the cabbage-plants, turnips, gooseberry- and currant- 
trees, wherever seen, besides being treated with appropriate 
P A more sensible answer has been given by an American 
writer, which, as far as it goes, may be fully accepted. He 
contends that our choice flowers, fruits, and vegetables are 
absolutely artificial productions, out of harmony with the 
natural flora and fauna of the distort where they grow, and 
can be preserved only by a maintenance of the artificial 
conditions under which they have originated. The raison 
d'etre of the cultivated fruit or flower is man s convenience, 
advantage, or gratification. It has been modified by him to 
that end without reference to its power of succeeding in the 
struggle for existence. 
Further, cultivation presents a number of plants in vast 
masses together. This is a demand which creates a suppty 
of enemies. Just as for a conflagration we must collert 
together a large quantity of combustible matter, and as lor 
an epidemic we must have a dense population, so foi the 
recent development of the Colorado beetle we must have 
potato-fields, and for the ravages of the Phylloxera we must 
have extended vineyards. 
