92 Mr Dal ton on the Vision of Colours. 



seem to have no blue whatever in them. Scarlet has a more 

 splendid appearance than red. Blood appears to me red ; but 

 it differs much from the articles mentioned above. It is much 

 more dull, and to me is not unlike that colour called bottle- 

 green. Stockings spotted with blood or with dirt would 

 scarcely be distinguishable. 



Red by candle-light. — Red and scarlet appear much more 

 vivid than by day. Crimson loses its blue and becomes yel- 

 lowish red. Pink is by far the most changed ; indeed it forms 

 an excellent contrast to what it is by day. No blue now ap- 

 pears ; yellow has taken its place. Pink by candle-light 

 seems to be three parts yellow and one red, or a reddish yel- 

 low. The blue, however, is less mixed by day than the yel- 

 low by night. Red, and particularly scarlet, is a superb co- 

 lour by candle-light ; but by day some reds are the least shewy 

 imaginable : I should call them dark drabs. 



Orange and yellow by day-light and candle-light. — I do not 

 find that I differ materially from other persons in regard to 

 these colours. I have sometimes seen persons hesitate whe- 

 ther a thing was white or yellow by candle-light, when to me 

 there was no doubt at all. 



Green by day-light. — I take my standard idea from grass. 

 This appears to me very little different from red. The face of 

 a laurel-leaf ( Prunus Lauro-cerasus) is a good match to a stick 

 of red sealing-wax ; and the back of the leaf answers to the 

 lighter red of wafers. Hence it will be immediately conclud- 

 ed, that I see either red or green, or both, different from other 

 people. The fact is, I believe that they both appear different 

 to me from what they do to others. Green and orange have 

 much affinity also. Apple green is the most pleasing kind to 

 me ; and any other that has a tinge of yellow appears to ad- 

 vantage. I can distinguish the different vegetable greens one 

 from another as well as most people ; and those which arc 

 nearly alike or very unlike to others are so to me. A decoc- 

 tion of Bohea tea, a solution of liver of sulphur, ale, &c. &c 

 which others call brown, appear to me green. Green woollen 

 cloth, such as is used to cover tables, appears to me a dull, 

 dark, brownish red colour. A mixture of two parts mud and 

 nne red would come near it. It resembles a red soil just turn- 



