88 



THE DESERT 



Local hues. 



Greens of 



desert 



plants. 



through it and thinks it not different from 

 any other air. But it is different. In itself, 

 and in its effect upon the landscape, it is per- 

 haps responsible for the greater part of what 

 everyone calls "the wonderful color" of the 

 desert. 



And this not to the obliteration of local hue 

 in sands, rocks, and plants. Quite independent 

 of atmospheres, the porphyry mountains are 

 dull red, the grease-wood is dull green, the vast 

 stretches of sand are dull yellow. And these 

 large bodies of local color have their influence in 

 the total sum-up. Slight as is the vegetation 

 upon the desert, it is surprising how it seems 

 to bunch together and count as a color-mass. 

 Almost all the growths are "evergreen." The 

 shrubs and the trees shed their leaves, to be sure, 

 but they do it so slowly that the new ones are 

 on before the old ones are off. The general 

 appearance is always green, but not a bright 

 hue, except after prolonged rains. Usually it 

 is an olive, bordering upon yellow. One can 

 hardly estimate what a relieving note this thin 

 thatch of color is, or how monotonous the 

 desert might be without it. It is welcome, for 

 it belongs to the scene, and fits in the color- 

 scheme of the landscape as perfectly as the 



