370 STATE BOAKD OF AGEICULTUEE. 



arrangement of flowers I have no hesitancy in saying that home is not a 

 Tiome. without flowers, — they teach us so much of love and trust as they blossom 

 about the door or develop in our windows. I care not how lowly the home may 

 be, if flovN'ers are there we may rest assured that love sits by the hearth. The 

 blossoms may fade but not until they have taught their lesson of love. 



I am aware there is danger in the pathway I am about to tread, for our self- 

 love will allow opinion to be trampled into the dust, and perhaps not murmur, 

 but in matters of taste a crossing of our views quickly induces an individuality 

 not easily suppressed or oppressed. But m the employment of color and form 

 in the ornamentation of our surroundings, there are certain rules upon which 

 all may unite, and their application to displays of flowers is perfect. 



White light from the sun has for its component parts three colors : Red, yel- 

 low, and blue ; these are known as primaries. Combining red v/ith yellow, we 

 form orange ; yellow Avith blue Ave make green ; red with blue we make violet. 

 These three resultant colors are known as secondaries. 



It Avill be readily seen that if one of the secondaries be put Avith the primary 

 that does not enter into its composition, Avhite Avill be the result. These colors, 

 hence, are said to be complementary to each other because they make or com- 

 plete Avhite. 



NoAA', as in music, those sounds best accord Avliich are farthest from each 

 other in the octav^e ; so in color Ave liaA'e the most perfect harmony betAveen the 

 hues that are the most distinct from one another. 



To illustrate the position these colors hold to one another, take a piece of 

 blank paper and draAV tAvo circles, the one Avithin the other, and much smaller. 

 Divide each circle by dots into three equal parts arranging so the points in one 

 circle Avill alternate Avitli those in the other. Noav, paint the primaries in the 

 lesser circle at the position of the dots, and each secondary at that dot in the 

 greater circle which alternates with the tAVO primaries that compose it; the 

 result Avill be that the complementary colors stand o])posite one another at the 

 greatest distance apart. 



A queer fact connected Avith these colors is, that the eye when placed upon 

 one, in a little Avhile seems to tire of it, and if the gaze bo diverted to a Avhite 

 Avail, strange to say its complement will appear quite distinctly before us. A 

 strong illustration of this truth is obtained by looking for a minute through a 

 glass, for instance a green spectacle glass, and after looking through it for a 

 short time remove it from the eye, when CA'cry object will seem at once trans- 

 formed to a ruddy appearance, red being the complement of green. From this 

 truth Ave gather another, that in our circles the colors most nearly diametrically 

 opposed are complementary and enhance each other's brilliancy. Men who deal 

 in dry goods employ this principle in the display of their goods, and florists do 

 not hesitate to take advantage of it in the arrangement of their bouquets. Still, 

 in most cases, they are entirely unaAvare of the general laAA', or the breadth of 

 its apijlication. 



Turn for a moment to forms. Here aa'O find no general principle that gov- 

 erns their influence upon the mind ; still a doctrine in taste seems quite uni- 

 A'ersal. 



Tiiere is no particular beauty in a straight line or an angle, but easy curves 

 are lines of beauty, and are eA'crywhcre admired, unless there is a gross violation 

 of utility. A handsome face attracts our oT)servation often simply because of 

 its pleasing curves which flow into one another Avith the utmost delicacy. Sud- 

 den transitions are to be avoided Avhether in the curves of a drive, a floAver bor- 



