101 
TRANSACTIONS OK THE SECTIONS. 
On ionic Traces of Harmonious Colours in Plants and the Plumage of Birds. 
By the Rev. Professor J. M’Cosh, LL.D., Belfast. 
The Professor set out with remarking, that he had been convinced for several 
itjfi past that the colours of plants would be found in beautilul accordance with 
u'a of harmonious colours, and that he hud enunciated the doctrine in u paper 
-d before the Natural History Society of Belfast in May 1853. In his reading since 
L-i! Jale he had discovered that there were beautiful glimpses of this truth in the 
■ "zj *of several colourists such as Field, though as tar as he knew, tin subject had 
,Jt pursued botanically, or introduced into botanical works in this country. 
iir further acknowledged that since that time he had received assistance from his 
^«$uc Ur. Dickie, who has been prosecuting the subject in a more scientific 
r -i«iicr. He then proceeded to give the results of his own observations. Taking 
V dirue secondary colours, green, purple, and orange, he allowed that when 
colour* are found in nature, they have often Hie corresponding harmonious 
a '-' ljr# "‘juxtaposition;— 
-in'miiiiuj with Bed and Ih’wt. '! In.-, is t'„. lu-r-t < ii.ii, i v in 
' ^Uble kingdom. Harmonizing with the green leaves of plants we have often 
lower* ami red fruit. The eve delights tu see the red berries peeping forth from 
r - r ren foliage of the mountain-ash or holly. Not unfrequintly, also, the green 
, Pm” w ' , .h the red or russet of tile young stems and leaf-stalks. 
jfh/i Yellow or Citrine. This is the second most common 
Jl' 1 -' *- u ^ ar as he had been able to observe, pui pic of 1 .-rious shades and hues 
rt »l-purple where there is a preponderance of red, and blue-purple where 
^aMin^ reP >K^ 8raDCe ^ ue “" 16 tkc moat common colour of the petals of plants. 
U pellet, „ we ^ av< ; often u yellow heart in the plant; very often the anthers 
Mn,i. SIJ iv ow * ^ is interesting to notice, that according to the htic of the 
d, JWEr j e h UG of the contrasted yellow. Thus, in the potato aud bitter-sweet, 
“'t™ are red-yellow, while in the garden 
' -i'W tu.. i ou ^ cr l ' m °f the corolla is red-nurnle and the heart is creenish- 
‘t ii found in 0n } iin 9 u '^' Blue and Olive. This harmony is less frequent, 
* L ayi,g enea : Uat «re. Plants with a blue llower have often orange anthers, and 
it extreme, an 01 'a«ge flower and an olive involucre. He had 
