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Show 300 DARWINISM Cll.\P. X l' The marvel wi.l l ever. rom,a m· to tho s.y mpathetic mes. . hut I venture to hope that m the pre-student of natmc, d d · l'ft'nrr-if only by one ccdinrr chapters I ha.vc succec e m 1 1 ? h h' f , l ( t f . o the veil of mystery wh1C as OI ono 0 Its corners-shrouded this department of nature. On a Peacock's Feathe1·. In Na.ture's workshop but a shaving, Of her poem hut a word, But a tint brushed from her palette, This fca.thor of a bird ! Yet set it in the sun glance, Di. pln.y it in the shine, . Take graver's lens, explore 1t, Note filament and lmc, Mark amethyst to sapphire, And sapphire to gold, . And gold to emerald changmg The archetype unfold ! Tone, tint, thread, tissue, texture, Through every atom s?an, Conforming still, developmg, Obedient to plan. This but to form a pattern On the garment of a bird! What then mnst be the poem, This but its lighte t word! Sit before it; ponder o'er it, 'Twill thy mind advanta.gc more. Than a treati c, than a sermon, Than a library of lore. CHAPTER XI TJI.Ji_j SPECIAL COLOURS OF PLANTS: TIIEIR ORIGIN AND PURPOSE The general colour relations of rlants- Colours of fruits- 'T'hc meaning of nuts- Edible or attractive fl'llits- Thc colours of flowers-Mode · of securing cross-fertilisation- The interpretation of the facts- ummary of additional facts bearing on insect fertilisation- Fertilisation of flowers by Linls- Self-fertilisation of flowers- Difficulties aud contradictions- Intercrossing not neccssaril y ad vantageous- Supposcd evil results of close interbreeding- How the struggle for existence acts among flowers- Flowers the product of insect agency- Concludi11 " remarks on colour in nature. b THE colours of plants are both less definite and less complex than are those of animals, and their interpretation on the principle of utility is, on tho whole, more direct and more easy. Yet here, too, we find that in our investigation of the uses of the various colours of fruits and flowers we arc introduced to some of the most obscure recesses ot' nature's ~orkshop, and are confronted with problems of the deepest mterest and of the utmost complexity. . So much ha~ been written on this interesting subject smce Mr. Darwm first called attention to it, and its main fac~s have become so generally known by moans of lectures, art1~les, and popular books, that I shall give hero a more outhne sketch, for the purpose of leading up to a discussion of some of the more fundamental problems which arise out of the facts, and which have hitherto received less attcution than they deserve. |