NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 169 



of a stuff intended for chairs, sofas, etc., as the selection of the wood to which 

 it is attached ; and, reciprocally, nothing contributes so much to augment the 

 beauty of the wood, as the color of the stuff in juxtaposition with it. In 

 accordance with the principles of coloring, which we laid down in a preceding 

 part of this article, it is evident that we must assort rose, or red-colored woods, 

 such as mahogany, with green stuffs ; yellow woods, such as citron, ash-root, 

 maple, satin-wood, etc., with violet or blue stuffs ; while red woods likewise 

 do well with blue grays, and yellow woods with green grays. But in all 

 these assortments, if we would obtain the best possible effects, it is necessary 

 to take into consideration the contrast resulting from height of tone ; for a 

 dark blue or violet stuff will not accord so well with a yellow wood as a light 

 tone of these colors does ; and hence, also, yellow does not assort so well 

 with mahogany as with a wood of the same color, but lighter. There is 

 no wood more generally used by us than mahogany, and no covering for 

 sofas and chairs more common than a crimson woolen stuff; and in this 

 we are influenced not so much by any idea of harmony, as by the twofold 

 motive of the stability of the crimson color and the beauty of the ma- 

 hogany. In assorting these, we will often do well to separate the stuff from 

 the wood by a cord or narrow galloon, of yellow, or of golden yellow, with 

 gilt nails ; or, better still, a narrow galloon of green or black, according as 

 we wish the border to be more or less prominent. The red woods always 

 lose a portion of their beauty when in juxtaposition with red stuffs. And 

 hence it is that we can never ally mahogany to vivid reds, such as cherry- 

 color; and more particularly to orange reds, such as scarlet, nacarat, and 

 aurora ; for these colors are so bright, that, hi taking away from this wood 

 its peculiar tint, it becomes no better than oak or walnut. Ebony and 

 walnut can be allied with brown tones, also with certain shades of green 

 and violet. Horticulturist. 



SUBSTITUTE FOE THE CAMEEA LUCIDA. 



The following description of a new instrument for drawing objects or land- 

 scapes in correct perspective was read before the Scottish Society of Arts, by 

 the Rev. W. Taylor : 



This apparatus consists of a wooden box, 15 by 12 inches, and 1 inch deep. 

 The lid is made, when open, to stand at right angles, and fixed there. On 

 the opposite side of the box a slip of wood is fixed, having a hole at the top, 

 through which the eye looks at the object to be copied. Opposite to this, 

 parallel tubes are fixed upon the open lid of the box, operating as a photo- 

 graph. At the upper end of the parallel tubes is a hole through which the 

 eye sees the object to be copied, and this orifice is made to travel along the 

 outline of the object. The other end of the parallel tubes has a pencil fixed 

 in it, which is pressed by a spring to a piece of paper fastened to the inside 

 of the lid by button-pins, and wliich accordingly traces the outline of 

 the object, being the counterpart of the object itself traced by the other 

 end of the parallel tubes. By means of this instrument, the author stated 

 that any object or landscape could be more correctly copied than by 



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