1894.] On the Color Description of Flowers, 17 
It was these difficulties to which I have above referred in 
the use of color terms, and certain anomalies which I encoun- 
tered in the course of a series of physiological investigations 
regarding color sense, which led me to give my attention to 
the selection of a system of color standards taken from the 
solar spectrum, the only source of authority in color. (See 
Sctence for June 9th, 1893.) , 
With these standards to work from, I undertook to deter- 
mine the color analysis of certain of our common flowers. 
The following results will, I think, be interesting to botanists. 
The numbers given indicate per cent. of color required to 
produce the hue of the flower. 
The symbols used in the formula stand for the six spectrum 
colors, viz., red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet with 
white and black (N for ziger being used to avoid the repeti- 
tion of B). 
Common forsythia, F. viridissima: pure spectrum yellow. 
Fringed polygala, P. paucifolia: R 48, V 52. 
Wistaria, W. frutescens, wings: R 11, V 89. 
4 a ‘sy. Stangara: & 9,. V¥ 20, wv ta. 
Flowering quince, Cydonia japonica: R 95, V 2, W 3. 
Wild cranesbill, Geranium maculatum: R 28, V 66, W 6. 
The variations of color in the early summer foliage is also 
interesting. The following analyses are for the upper side of 
fresh and well developed healthy leaves. It is not impos- 
sible that a little attention to these variations in the color of 
foliage on the part of artists would save us the annoyance of 
some of the abominable green which we so often see in the 
pictures of artists of good reputation. 
White oak: Y 7.5, G 11.5, N 81. 
Apple: Y 5, G 13, W 2, N 8o.: 
Copper beech: R 17, Nay ee 
Hemlock: Y 2, G9, N 89. 
White pine: Y 2.5, G 11, N 86.5. 
Shagbark hickory: Y 4.5, G 9.5, N 86. 
_ These analyses were made in a moderately strong diffused 
light with Maxwell discs of the standard hues referred to 
above. The discs were combined upon a color wheel giving 
sufficiently rapid rotation to blend the colors smoothly and 
give an even surface of color with which to compare the 
2—Vol. XIX—No. 1. 
