PATTERNS CONSPICUOUS IN NATURE. 



399 



The consideration of tlie visibility of patterned objects against 

 plain backgrounds can now be resumed. As before mentioned, 

 a patterned object is visible as long as its pattern is visible ; it 

 follows that objects whose patterns blend at a great distance are 

 more conspicuous than tnose whose pattei'us blend at a short 

 distance. 



There remains to be considered patterned objects which are 

 visible against plain backgrounds after the pattern has blended 

 at distance. 



In a previous paper it was shown that, as regards visibility (as 

 measured by the greatest distance at which the object is visible), 

 patterned objects against plain backgrounds are neither more nor 

 less visible than plain ones. It was also shown that, where the 

 pattern interrupts the margin, the outline of the object appears 

 blurred and difficult to define after the pattern has blended at 



Text-figure 12. 



1-3. Patterns which do not interrupt tlie margins of the object. 4-6. Patterns 

 which interrupt two sides, three sides, and one side of the object. 



distance. It follows that a further condition must be fulfilled in 

 order that a patterned object may be as conspicuous as possible 

 against a plain background : the pattern must present an un- 

 interrupted margin, for example, as shown in text-fig. 12, 1-3. 

 If these patterns be viewed from beyond their blending distance, 

 they will appear more defined than nos. 4, 5, and 6, in which the 

 pattern interi'upts the margin. Apart from this, the visibility of 

 pattei-ned objects be} ond the blending distance and against plain 

 backgrounds is similar to that of plain objects against plain 

 backgrounds. A patterned object can be made more conspicuous 

 against a series of plain backgrounds than can a plain object, 

 because, though a plain object can be made very visible against a 

 single plain background by a strong contrast in tone with the 



