The Charm of Color 241 



us within a few years, by the introduction of the 

 vivid red of Italian clover. It is eagerly welcomed 

 to our fields, so scant of scarlet. This clover was 

 brought to America in the years 1824 et seq.> and is 

 described in contemporary publications in alluring 

 sentences. I have noted the introduction of several 

 vegetables, grains, fruits, berries, shrubs, and flowers 

 in those years, and attribute this to the influence of 

 the visit of Lafayette in 1824. Adored by all, his 

 lightest word was heeded ; and he was a devoted 

 agriculturist and horticulturist, ever exchanging ideas, 

 seeds, and plants with his American fellow-patriots 

 and fellow-farmers. I doubt if Italian clover then 

 became widely known ; but our modern farmers now 

 think well of it, and the flower lover revels in it. 



The exigencies of rhyme and rhythm force us to 

 endure some very curious notions of color in the 

 poets. I think no saying of poet ever gave greater 

 check to her lovers than these lines of Emily Dick- 

 inson : 



" Nature rarer uses yellow 



Than another hue ; 

 Saves she all of that for sunsets, 



Prodigal of blue. 

 Spending scarlet like a woman, 



Yellow she affords 

 Only scantly and selectly, 



Like a lover's words." 



I read them first with a sense of misapprehension 

 that I had not seen aright; but there the words 

 stood out, " Nature rarer uses yellow than another 

 hue." The writer was such a jester, such a tricky 



