INTRODUCTION. 



Beyond various modifications of these hues there are no 

 color names of any value whatever in relation to the 

 wild flower. We have in the color dealer's catalogue 

 numerous conditions of these hues indicated by standard 

 names : there is Naples yellow, a dilute form of golden 

 yellow ; crimson lake, a subdued rendering of crimson ; 

 and vermilion, which is a synonym for scarlet. These 

 are standard colors which have never varied, and which 

 will probably last with many others as long as painting 

 does. 



In botanical and ornithological works we find such 

 color names as fuscous, rufous, vinaceous, ferruginous, 

 rose-purple, greenish purple, etc. ; they mean nothing* at 

 all to one who is not a scientist, and I half suspect they 

 mean but little to one who is. Purple (botanically 

 speaking) is a dreadfully abused term which is made to 

 stand for half the rainbow ; it means anything from 

 crimson to violet. As an actual fact it is fairly repre- 

 sented by Mimulus ringens, and one jot to the right or 

 left of that hue is not purple. Pure yellow is perfectly 

 represented by CEnothera biennis, and no tint to the 

 right or left of that is a true yellow. Magenta is a 

 crimson-purple ; the list of flowers which represent it 

 is too long to give here. Blue in its pure form only 

 exists (dilutely) in Myosotis. But I find that if I disturb 

 all the botanists' color names I may complicate matters 

 and add to the confusion which already exists in plant 

 names, so I am content to let Ranunculus stand in plain 

 yellow, although the color is not pure yellow, and it 

 ranges through eight distinct deep or golden tones. In 

 many other instances, also, I have refrained from mak- 

 ing a change, although I am compelled to draw the 

 line at rose-purple, and call it by its proper title, light 

 magenta. 



xviii 



