INTRODUCTION. 



Color in Nature, and especially in the vegetable world 

 as seen in leaf and flower, is one of the most pleasing- 

 objects that greet the eye. 



Many questions naturally arise regarding its origin and 

 the purposes it subserves, its modifications and many 

 changes. These offer a somewhat novel subject for en- 

 quiry. There is very little literature on the subject, and 

 a portion of what exists is open to grave criticism. 



Chemists have informed us of the nature of only a few 

 of the pigments and where they may be found, whether 

 fixed in minute bodies called plastids, or free in the cell 

 sap. 



Grant Allen has written very entertainingly on the se- 

 quence of color and Hermann Miiller has discoursed on 

 insect selection ; the writer however, not being wholh- 

 convinced as to the soundness of the theories of these 

 authorities, recalling moreover Agassiz's injunction, which 

 he copied from a blackboard in the Penikese school : 

 "Study to translate what actually exists," "Study nature, 

 not books," decided to investigate for himself. Herein he 

 presents the results of his researches, including a general 

 survey of color in flowers, leaves, etc., as seen by an ordi- 

 nary observer, reviewing also some of the more obvious 

 facts and comparing them with the conclusions of the above 

 mentioned and other writers. Some of the ways in which 

 flowers become variegated will also be pointed out, and in 

 brief there will be presented a general conspectus of color 

 astound in vegetation. 



Elipiialet Williams Hervey. 



New Bedford, Mass., May 1, 1899. 



