language."[1] And a similar error, or danger, appears to exist in the theory of "warning colours," as used for an explanation of a difficult problem in coloration. Some of the most brightly coloured fruits are edible, and so are gorgeous fishes, elegantly marked mammals, and brilliant birds. The evil smell of the durian does not prevent its being a favourite fruit to the Orang, as well as to man, nor does its hard and spiny envelope afford it protection.[2] On the other hand, many fruits obtain an undoubted advantage by their edible qualities, their seeds passing intact through the bodies of birds and other animals, and thus being scattered far and wide. The well-known nutmeg (Myristica moschata) affords a good example. This fruit, with its red arillus of mace, which is exposed by the splitting of the outside envelope when ripe, is both aromatic in smell and not inconspicuous in appearance. Birds, especially the Nutmeg-Pigeon (Carpophaga aenea) devour this fruit with avidity, and by their involuntary dispersal of the seeds caused the spice-preserving Dutch considerable trouble. These protectionists compelled the native chiefs on the islands of Ternate, Tidor, Makian, &c, to destroy their nutmeg plantations, in order that there might be no competition with the produce of their own trees in Amboyna and Banda. They employed agents to see that this destructive process was vigorously carried out, but their efforts were considerably frustrated by the birds, who deposited seeds in unlooked-for spots and inaccessible positions. As Labillardière narrated:—"This circumstance made the Company resolve to settle residents in those islands, whose principal business it is
- ↑ This shows no advance on the teachings of Socrates, who, in his discourse with Aristodemus, observed:—"A tongue hath been bestowed on every other animal, but what animal, except man, hath the power of forming words with it, whereby to explain his thoughts, and make them intelligible to others" (cf. G.H. Lewes, 'Philosophy of Socrates').
- ↑ Mr. Hornaday thus describes this edible luxury:—"The fruit is very much the same in size and shape as a pineapple, but the entire outside is a bristling array of dark green conical spines, three-fourths of an inch high, and very sharp.... It is a painful matter to hold a durian except by the stem, and I would as soon have a six-pound shot fall upon me as one of them.... This wholly abominable pod smells even more offensive than it looks, the odour given off being like that of a barrel of onions at its most aggressive stage" ('Two Years in the Jungle,' p. 318).
