1 
COLOURS OF FLOWERS. 27 
by simply removing a flower or two from one place of the arrange- 
ment, and putting them in another. Now as each different 
arrangement gives a different degree of beauty, there must be 
some one arrangement which shall give the maximum of beauty, 
and be in short superior to every other ; and this will hold in 
all collections of flowers, in what situation soever they may be 
placed. The question then is, to find out, not this arrangement 
for an individual case, because that will depend upon the flowers 
to be arranged, but the general principle upon which it depends, 
and which, well understood, the florist can apply to all cases. 
The solution of this problem lies in the doctrine of Comple- 
mental Colours ; that is, of those separate colours which, if blended 
together, would make the pure white light of the undecomposed 
solar beam. Rightly to understand this, we must first take the 
broadest contrast, namely, absolute light and absolute darkness, 
or rather the nearest approach to these which we can obtain, for 
neither light nor darkness is absolute on the surface of the earth. 
When, however, we take as near an approach as we can, we find 
that, if we look long at the light, the eyes become pained, and lose 
their perception, so that we instinctively shade them by the hand 
or otherwise, and the blackness of darkness, though we find it in 
places where there would be some light under any other state of 
our eyes, is exceedingly grateful to us. So also when we have 
been long in the dark, more especially in such darkness as reigns 
in a deep coal pit, the light, though a little too strong for our 
vision, is delightful, and we can take a longer view, and discern 
minute objects more clearly than we can with similar light under 
any othej circumstances. So also when black and white are 
brought in juxtaposition, the intensity of both is wonderfully 
heightened. Nay, with the judicious application of a little black 
colour, we can contrive to make one piece of the same sheet of 
white paper appear a great deal whiter than any of the rest. We 
have only to shade it round with any black colouring matter—as 
for instance with Indian ink, and let the outer margin of this 
melt finely into the general white of the paper, and then the spot 
surrounded by the darkest part of the tint will appear as a bit of 
intensely white paper laid upon the sheet of the ordinary white¬ 
ness. In this way, white flowers may be painted on white paper, 
by means of black colour ; and when this is neatly done, the effect 
is far more fine and delicate than that obtained by any other method. 
