NATURE'S COLOR. 223 



blue, and the stretch of meadow down in the valley 

 is intensely green ; we had not noticed that before. 

 This may be accounted for by a very simple fact : 

 in disturbing the normal position of objects on the 

 retina, we disturb also our acute perception of detail. 

 As there is little or no detail to color, we see that 

 en masse without visual distraction : and when our 

 attention is exclusively devoted to one thing we are 

 apt to understand it better that is all. As a matter 

 of fact, the eye becomes dull and heedless from see- 

 ing things in the ordinary way, and a little shaking 

 up acts as a positive stimulant. 



The omnipresence of color in Nature is not fully 

 appreciated ; occasionally, by accident, we discover 

 more color than we think we have any right to see ! 

 It is precisely in this conservative spirit that we 

 criticise an impressionist's uncommonly colored pic- 

 ture ; we think that he can not truly see so much, 

 and has wilfully made his picture a chromatic falsity. 

 But we ourselves have not learned the whole truth 

 about color until we have turned our heads upside 

 down ! 



Nature uses no black in any part of her work 

 I will not even except the blackberry* and the so- 

 called black pansy. On a bright, clear day, the 



* See the chapter containing a description of the blackberry. 



