JO<4 STUDIES OF NATURE. 



no manner of concern : for they evade the diffi- 

 culty by the vague and indecifive expreffions, of 

 blackifh, gray, afh-coloured, brown, which they 

 convey, it is true, in Greek and Latin words. But 

 thofe words frequently anfwer no purpofe, except 

 to confound their images, by giving no reprefen- 

 tation whatever; for what, in good earneft, is 

 meant by thefe, and fuch like, epithets, atro-pur- 

 purante, fufco-nigrefcente, which they employ fo fre- 

 quently ? 



It is poffible to make thoufands of tints widely 

 different from each other, to which fuch general 

 expreffions might be applied. As thofe dark 

 fhades, in truth, are much compounded, it is ex- 

 ceedingly difficult to characterize them by the 

 phrafeology of our common vocabularies. But 

 this might be eafily and effectually accomplished, 

 by referring them to the different colours of our 

 domeflic vegetables. I have remarked in the barks 

 of our trees and fhrubbery, in the capfules and 

 (hells of their fruits, as well as in the dead leaves, 

 an incredible variety of thofe fad and gloomy 

 fhades, from yellow down to black, with all the 

 intermixtures and accidents of the other colours. 

 Thus, inftead of faying in Latin, a yellow inclining 

 to black, or an afh-coloured tint, in order to de- 

 termine forne particular fhade of colour in a pro- 

 duction of Art, or of Nature, we might fay a yel- 

 low 



