The 1895 Chrysanthemums. 269 



they use such seductive phrases as " soft dove colored," " fawn 

 colored," etc. Men who write of colors should be examined for 

 color blindness, so that they may know their own limitations. 

 The great practical reason against using words expressing fine 

 shades of color is that these words mean very different things to 

 different persons. It is hard enough to get people to agree on 

 such staple colors as red, blue, green and yellow. What the flor- 

 ists of the country need is a cheap chart of colors, containing 

 simply the common names and the common colors. This matter 

 has been agitated for several years. Mr. F. Schulyer Mathews, 

 a well-known artist and colorer, prepared a chart for the use of 

 florists, which was published as a supplement to the American 

 Florist of August 17, 1895. It is an excellent and worthy at- 

 tempt, and is a distinct gain to the profession; but it has the 

 fault of containing too many uncommon and unimportant colors 

 and names of colors. " Dull ultramarine (blue, grayish) " is too 

 long for ordinary use. Even if the florist were capable of dis- 

 tinguishing between Mr. Mathews' " salmon," " salmon pink " 

 and " reddish salmon," these names would never be attractive 

 names for the description of flowers. It is very doubtful whether 

 people would care to distinguish lilac and light lilac. Horticul- 

 turists ought to agree upon twenty or thirty common names of 

 colors and then secure the preparation of a chart to correspond 

 with these common names. We need colors for the names in 

 common use. 



People must not expect too much of color charts. They should 

 realize (as Mr. Mathews does) that pigments cannot compete with 

 the colors of nature. Pigments are dead, petals are alive. More- 

 over, neither pigments nor petals correspond with the colors of 

 the solar spectrum. It is doubtful if Mr. Mathews is warranted 

 in calling his colors " absolutely true." They may be correct 

 from the pigmental or chemical standpoint, or from the stand- 

 point of technical or trade nomenclature, but it is a question if 

 these are to be the standards of absolutely true colors. The fact 

 is that there is no absolute standard of color. Lapis lazuli and 

 bichromite of potash may furnish very stable and constant pig- 

 ments, but these materials and all others have decided limita- 

 tions. These limitations must be understood, or there will al- 



