Masterpieces of Science 



painting sharpen the eye, and make the fingers 

 its trained and ready servants. From the very 

 beginning of one's task in limning bud and blos- 

 som, we see them richer in grace and loveliness 

 than ever before. When wild flowers are sketch- 

 ed as they grow it is often easy to give them a 

 new interest by adding the portraits of their 

 insect servitors. Amateurs who are so fortunate 

 as to visit the West Indies have an opportunity 

 to paint the wonderful blossoms of the Marc- 

 gravia, whose minister, a humming bird, quivers 

 above it like a bit of rainbow loosened from the 

 sky. 



Early in the history of art the wild flowers - 

 lent their aid to decoration. The acanthus 

 which gave its leaves to crest the capital of the 

 Corinthian column, the roses conventionalized 

 in the rich fabrics of ancient Persia, until they 

 have been thought sheer inventions of the 

 weaver, are among the first items of an indebted- 

 ness which has steadily grown in volume until 

 to-day, when the designers who find their inspira- 

 tion in the flowers are a vast and increasing host. 

 In a modern mansion of the best type the outer 

 walls are enriched with the leonine beauty of 

 the sun-flower; within, the mosaic floors, the silk, 

 and paper hangings, repeat themes suggested 

 by the vine, the wild clematis and the May- 

 flower. The stained glass windows from New 

 York, where their manufacture excels that of 

 any other city in the world, are exquisite with 

 boldly treated lilies, poppies, and columbines. 

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