40 



perhaps merely functional resulting in chemical action which 

 either stops the production of the usual pigment partially or 

 altogether, or changes its color. 



What the chemical action is, must be left to the experts to 

 discover. The amateur can, however, make, after a fashion, 

 solutions of flower-pigments, tr>' their reactions to acid and 

 alkali and thereby gain some rough idea of the kinds of pigment 

 concerned in the different changes. These tests are pretty work; 

 the colors obtained are often ver}" brilliant and beautiful. They 

 can be made-indeed, in view of the uncertainties of getting 

 delicate petals home in good condition, they are often best made 

 — in the field. The modest apparatus needed is not very cum- 

 bersome to carry, especially if one has the use of a motor-car 

 to earn." him near to the theater of operations. My own outfit 

 packs nicely into a small old travelhng bag about a foot long. 

 It consists of a pint bottle of distilled water, a smaller bottle 

 of alcohol (grain alcohol if you can get it), a can or two of sterno, 

 matches and t%vo test tubes for making solutions; a large glass 

 rod for handling or macerating petals in the test-tubes; a small 

 vial of concentrated hydrochloric acid, one of concentrated 

 ammonia and two small glass rods for transferring drops of these 

 reagents to the pigment solutions; a few half-ounce homoeopathic 

 vials in which to make the tests ; and a note-book for recording 

 results. Solutions are made by boiling petals for a few seconds 

 in distilled water in a test-tube held over the sterno, or by soaking 

 them for a few minutes in alchohol. One method is best in 

 some instances, the other in others. In case of doubt, tr\' both, 

 as I usually do. If your supply of canned heat gives out, a 

 rather weak and murk}', but usable solution may be made, in 

 some cases, by macerating the petals in cold water. Occasionally 

 this gives a somewhat different result from the boiled solution; 

 it might be worth tr^-ing sometimes as a check. Only very small 

 quantities of the solutions are needed; the less water or alchool 

 one uses in proportion to the bulk of petals, the stronger in 

 color and better will be the solution obtained. When the sol- 

 ution is ready, part of it is poured into one of the small vials, 

 a drop of acid added and the resultant color-change, if any, 

 noted. Another portion is placed in another vial and a drop of 

 ammonia added to it. If acid changes the color the original 

 hue can often be brought back by adding enough ammonia to 

 neutralize the acid; and vice versa. 



