Show madagascar ORCHID its U act 0 0 1 which hect sp e I Drw ln 1 s 1 10 la in nil his theory W we might proceed through nil all the orchid g genera nera each affording its sur bar prise in its special modification in adaptation to its insect sponsor all these various shapes folds of 0 petals positions colors the size length and thickness of the relative positions of pollen and stigma salima embodying an n expression of 0 welcome to the insect with which its is life Is so marvelously linked says harpers magazine occa atonally tlona lly this astounding affinity is faithful to a single species ot of insect which thus becomes the sole sponsor of 0 tho the blossom without whose association the orchid would become extinct A remarkable instance ot of this special adaptation Is seen in the great orchid ot of madagascar described by darwin inasmuch as this species glorifies darwina Dar wins faith in the truth h of his theory and marks a notable victory in the long battle tor for its lt supremacy among the host boat ot of skeptics and were they not legion who met this evolutionary and revolutionary theory with Incredulity not to say ridicule or worse was one who thus challenged its author shortly after the appearance ot of his fertilization ot of orchids addressing darwin from madagascar substantially ar a follows upon your theory of evolution through natural selection all the various contrasting structural features of the orchids have direct reference to some borne insect which shall best cross fertilize them it if an orchid has a an inch long an insects tongue of 0 equivalent length lu Is implied a six inches in length likewise implies a a tongue six inches long what have you to say gay in regard to an orchid which flourishes here in madagascar possessing a long as slender as a knitting needle and eleven inches in length on your hypothesis there must be a moth with a tongue eleven inches long or this would never have been elaborated carwins Dar wins reply was magnificent in its proof of the sublime conviction of the truth of his belief the existence of an orchid with a slender eleven inches in length and with nectar secreted at its tip Is a conclusive demonstration of the existence of a moth with a tongue 11 inches in length even though no such moth Is known many of us remember the ridicule which wasp was heaped upon him tor for this apparently blind adherence to an untenable theory dut but victory complete and demoralizing to his opponents awaited this oracular utterance when later a disciple of derwin darwin led by the same spirit of faith and conviction visited madagascar and was soon eoon able to affirm that he had caught the moth a huge sphinx moth and that its tongue measured eleven inches in length |