COLOR 



COLOR 



831 



WITH SLACK WITH WHITE CLEAR COLOR 



The generic character of flower-colors is com- 

 prehended in the hues just named, although such 

 names are of little consequence so long as identifica- 

 tion is without question. Unfortunately scientists and 

 artists have not yet established a standard nomen- 

 clature of color, and as a consequence the name of a 



particular hue is 

 largely determined 

 by a consensus of 

 public opinion, 

 which, very natu- 

 rally, is not always 

 correct. 



Classification of colors. 



It is essential, 

 therefore, to accept 

 both popular and 

 scientific estimates of 

 color if the subject 

 is to be considered in 

 its relation to flow- 

 ers. The scientific 

 determination of 

 simple colors is ex- 

 pressed by certain 

 arbitrary numbered 

 lines in the spec- 

 trum. Thus, yellow 

 is at line 580, gold- 

 yellow at 605, orange 

 at 630, scarlet at 655, 

 red at 680, green at 

 530, peacock-blue at 



1036. Color phases in flowers. 



505, violet at 430, ultramarine at 455, and blue at 

 480. These numbers indicate the wave-lengths of the 

 respective hues, with the micron (one-millionth part 

 of an inch) as the unit. This identification of color, 

 however satisfactory from a scientific point of view, is 

 both intangible and impracticable in every other 

 respect. The flower-petal or the artist's pigment 

 matched with the spectrum is the only proper medium 

 through which to convey an adequate knowledge of a 

 given hue to the layman, and it must be remembered 

 that everyone is hypothetically the layman who is not 

 directly associated with the particular science or art 

 under consideration. The colors of certain flower- 

 petals as matched with the spectrum lines are as follows : 



Yellow (580). (Enothera biennis, Brassica nigra, 

 Ranunculus acris, Helianthus decapetalus, a single 

 dandelion ray. 



Gold-yellow (590). Rudbeckia hirta, golden calen- 

 dula. 



Gold-yellow (585). Kerria japonica. 



Gold-orange (600). Golden eschscholtzia. 



Gold-orange (615). Crocus susianus. 



Orange (635). Tropseolum majus (deepest orange 

 hue), the common type. 



Scarlet (645). Mme. Crozy canna, scarlet geranium 

 and tropaeolum, berry of Cornus canadensis. 



Red (680). Red azalea, red carnation, tube of 

 Rhododendron nudiflorum. 



Red (690). Red gladiolus. 



Crimson. Crimson peony, American Beauty rose 

 (dilute). 



Magenta. Magenta cineraria, Polygala sanguinea. 



Purple. Purple cineraria, Mimulus ringens. 



Violet (425). Viola cuculata and Campanula rotun- 

 difolia (light). 



Violet (430). Verbena erinoides. 



Ultramarine violet (440). Centaurea Cyanus, the 

 bluest phase (light). 



Ultramarine blue (455). Scilla sibirica (light). 



Ultramarine blue (435). Gentiana Andrewsii, 

 (bluest tip of petal). 



Blue (475). Myosotis palustris, bluest phase (pale). 



Such a list is manifestly imperfect; to state the case 

 accurately, few flowers are "on the line;" three of the 

 colors have no numbered lines, and many of the plant 

 species or varieties are not and can not be explicitly 

 cited. For example, the red carnation must be a red and 

 not a scarlet-red variety, and its coloring should match 

 that of the Rhododendron nudiflorum tube; the same 

 rule applies to the red gladiolus. It is equally the case 

 that many flowers show only a modification or a dilution 

 of the hue they are chosen to represent ; the blue of the 

 forget-me-not at best is extremely dilute. 



A list of artists' pigments is more to the point. It has 

 the great advantage of npmenclatorial fixity and it 

 does not include hues subject to change. The repre- 

 sentative colors are : 



Lemon, zinc, ultramarine, pale cadmium, and light 

 malori yellows. 



Medium cadmium and malori gold-yellows. 



Cadmium orange and deep malori orange-yellow. 



Orange mineral. 



Scarlet-vermilion. 



Carmine or alizarin lake (no single pigment is exactly 

 normal red), these incline to scarlet. 



Crimson lake. 



Magenta: a mixture of crimson and mauve lakes in 

 nearly equal parts. 



Mauve lake: a true purple. 



Violet ultramarine. 



Guimet's French ultramarine. 



Cobalt blue. 



Emerald-green. 



The color harmonies. 



If the simple colors, yellow, orange, red, purple, 

 blue, and green, are arranged in a circle (Fig. 1037), 

 those lying opposite each other harmonize by reason 

 of absolute contrast. Blue and orange, for example, 

 are complementary colors and theoretically they bal- 

 ance each other. It by no means follows, however, that 

 a mass of orange nasturtiums and blue forget-me-nots 

 must therefore look well together; the very massing 

 of such hues would make that impossible in spite of the 

 fact that the misty grayish character of a clump of 

 blue forget-me-nots is the reverse of aggressive. But 

 the orange of the nasturtium is obtrusive to the last 

 degree, and its environment should be as colorless as 

 possible even to the point of dull gray or white. 



If these six simple colors in the circle are again 

 separated by intermediate hues (Fig. 1035), so about 

 three of the latter lie between the six original colors, the 

 result will be a circle of twenty-four divisions, having 

 the effect of a rainbow. This will perfectly illustrate 

 the principle of color harmony and color discord. 

 Besides the opposing colors which harmonize by con- 

 trast, there are neighboring colors which harmonize 

 by analogy. 



For example, any four or five colors lying side by 

 side in the circle are bound together harmoniously by 

 reason of their near relationship. Therefore, all these 

 four or five colors may 

 be combined and na- 

 ture does combine 

 them with esthetic 

 results. But skip over 

 four of the colors and 

 attempt a combination 

 of the first and sixth, 

 and the result will 

 prove to be a discord, 

 the bond of relation- 

 ship is broken, and the 

 eye is disturbed by the 

 aggressiveness of two 

 colors between which 

 there is evidently no 

 bond of sympathy. It 1037. Harmony by contrast. 



