| Show MADAQABOAn OnCIIID 1 I IU lenses Krxiiiior Hlilrh lnillr t4 I IItwin 11111 u III Theory I I We might proceed through all the I orchid genera < < ear li fording In sir rlae In Its special modlflratlon In I adaptation to III Insect IIOruor1I these urlolll shapes folds of petals polllon colon the site length < < and thickness of necharythe relative Pool lion of pollen and stigma embodying an expression of welcome to the insect with which lu life la I au marvelously linked says Harpera Magazine < < Occasionally Occa-sionally this abounding affinity hs I faithful to a tingle species ot insect which thin become the sole aponnor of the blossom without whose assoMa lion the orchid would become extinct A remarkable Instance of this special 1 adaptation It I teen In the great Angrne I cum Orchid ot Madagascar described by Darwin Inasmuch aa this apeclej 1 glorifies Darwlna faith I In the truth of I hla theory and marks a notable victory I In the long battle for lit supremacy Among hoot ot tkepllra and wero they nit IrglnnT who met this evolutionary I evolu-tionary and revolutionary theory with I Incredulity not to may ridicule or worse WM one who thus challenged author shortly alter the appearance ot hli Kortlllutlon of Orchids addressing Darwin from Malsgascar substantially at follows Upon your theory of evolution evo-lution through natural selection all the various contrasting structural features of the orchids have direct reference to some Insect which shall best groan fer tlllte them If an orchid hss a nectary an Inch long an Insects tongue of 1 equivalent length la Implied a nectary MX Inches In length likewise Implied a tongue ill Inches long What have you to say In regard 101m orchid which nourishes here In Madagascar possesa Inn a long nectar as slender as a knitting I knit-ting needle and eleven Inches In length On your hypothesis there must be a moth with a tongue eleven Inches long or this nectar would never nev-er have been elaborated 1 la r win w reply re-ply was magnificent In IU proof of the sublime conviction of the truth nt hla belief The existence of an orchid l with a slender nectary eleven Inches In length and with nectar secreted at Ita tip Is I a conclusive demonstration of the existence of a moth with a tongue 11 Inches In length even though no such moth Is known Many ol us remember the ridicule which was heaped upon him for this apparently blind adherence to an untenable theory Hut victory complete and demorallilng to his opponents awaited this oracular utterance when later a disciple ot Darwin > Dar-win led by the same spirit of faith and conviction visited Madagascar and Will loon able to attlrm that bo had caught lie moth a blue sphinx moth and that I its length tongue measured eleven Inches In |
