No. 500] NOTES AND LITERATURE 



567 



used in definite proportions, are numbered consecutively with 

 the pure color from which they are derived, so that the first 

 double page of samples contains reds numbered from 1 to 25, 

 the second reds numbered from 26 to 50, the third red-oranges 

 from 51 to 75, the fourth red-oranges from 76 to 100. Thus the 

 first 100 numbers are given up to red (including red-orange), 

 the numbers from 101 to 200 indicate oranges (including orange- 

 yellow), and so on through the spectrum, until the numbers 501 

 to 600 indicate violet (including violet-red). In addition to the 

 six hundred colors thus numbered consecutively, there are 120 

 others, five on each page, all made by adding white to the pure 

 color or to one of the broken colors and all designated by pre- 

 fixing letters to the numbers on the same page. Thus the num- 

 ber of colors is brought up to 720. 



To designate a color it is only necessary to refer to it by its 

 code number. Thus a naturalist may describe the color of a bird 

 as C. C. 120 (C. C. as an abbreviation for Code des Couleurs), 

 and one reading his description knows at once, since the number 

 falls in the second hundred, that the color is a broken orange 

 and by turning to his code has the color itself before him. The 

 naturalist may carry the book into the field and on a pencil 

 sketch may enter the numbers of the colors of natural objects, 

 and from such notes may, at his leisure, prepare colored figures 

 of such objects, long after the objects themselves have faded. 

 Thus there is provided an international code of colors which 

 may be used like a telegraphic code and by means of which men 

 of different nations and professions may intercommunicate with- 

 out risk of being misunderstood. 



The scheme adopted in the code is a simplification of that used 

 in the dye works at Gobelin and elaborated by the chemist 

 Chevreul formerly in charge of the dye works. The simplifica- 

 tion consists in reducing the number of pure colors from 72 to 

 24, in greatly reducing the number of tints and shades and 

 broken colors, and in omitting the grays. The omission of the 

 grays is justified on the ground that all grays are in nature 

 impure, and are therefore represented in the "Code" by shades 

 or broken colors. The Chevreul scheme contains 14.421 colors 

 including grays, while the "Code" contains but 720. excluding 

 grays. The colors given in the "Code" are, however so close 

 together that only the trained expert will be able to discriminate 

 intermediate colors , the} are probably sufficient for all practical 



