SEPTEMBER 157 



the latter brilliantly red, and the former 

 purely blue.' When mellowed fruits and 

 yellow and red flowers shine at evening 

 it is because the sunset light comes to 

 them through more and more of the 

 air that envelopes the earth, and which 

 though invisible, quenches almost entirely 

 the violet, blue, and green. All objects 

 disposed towards yellow and red are then 

 illuminated as with a pure light of these 

 two colours, and they gleam out tri- 

 umphantly, because all other green, blue r 

 and violet objects are more or less deprived 

 of their favourite rays. Nothing of this, 

 however, quite explains why white and 

 yellow flowers often appear so bright at 

 night, or why some other flowers and 

 notably some kinds of crimson snap- 

 dragon (antirrhinum) do often shine, so 

 as to attract the eye from a distance on 

 some very dull grey days. These (as 

 indeed all flowers in some degree) doubt 

 less have a self-luminous power, which we 

 call phosphorescence, whatever that may be. 

 We have already had large store of 

 delicious, well-sunned wall fruit peaches,. 



