believe that it was not a flower seen in profile, the rounded abdomen representing the central mass of florets, and the extended legs the ray florets; while to complete the illusion the femora of the front pair of legs, addressed to the thorax, have each a longitudinal red stripe which represents the ferruginous stripe on the sepals of the flower.” But more remarkable still is the case cited by my friend Dr. H. O. Forbes. This came under his notice while butterfly hunting in Java. The butterflies of the family _Hesperidæ_ have a habit of settling on the excreta of birds. Forbes noticed one on a leaf apparently enjoying a feast. Creeping up, he seized hold of this victim of a depraved taste and found it mysteriously held down. On further examination of this “excreta” he found that it was really a spider! Later, when in Sumatra, the same species once more in like manner deceived him. The deception is more than usually remarkable, for it is not due to the coloration of the body, but to what may almost be described as a diabolically ingenious display of intelligence. For the creature weaves upon a leaf a small white patch of web exactly resembling the fluid excrement of a bird sliding down the smooth surface of the leaf. Having completed this, the weaver lies on its back in the middle of the web holding on by the spines with which the legs are furnished. It then awaits its victim with the disengaged portions of the legs ready to close in a deadly embrace the moment the lure has done its work. Though somewhat in the nature of a digression, these facts show that colour often plays a vital part in well-being; though in the matter of courtship its rôle has probably been overestimated. Colour as an aid to “mate hunting “probably nowhere plays so important a part as was at one time believed. The Warblers among the birds, and the Spiders among more lowly animals, seem to demonstrate this fact.