New-York tribune., 1879-04-15


stone, as we'll by distinguished German scholar
DR. Hugo Magnus to show that the sense OF color is
not an original endowment of the human race, but
the product of experience and cultivation AT later
period of their history. Mr.. Gladstone has devel-
oped the idea, with great COpiouSneSs OF research
and ingenuity Of argument that at the date OF some
three thousand years ago. the principal Tribes OF the
Semitic and Aryan races were incapable OF dlstlh-
gushing between red, blue, green. and yellow ana
starting from this imaginary primitive polht' lie
traces the history of the color-sense through the
succeeding ages defining four leading periods IN inc
growth of the perception. The primitive man is as
sumed to have been totally destitute of the sensa-
tion of color. In the progressive education ol
the organ three chief colors have been success
sively perceived in the order of their refrangblty'
red green violet The first stage is that III which
the eve becomes able todstingu;sh between red and
black Red Is the first object of perception, because
il is the most luminous of colOrs. In the next
stage of the development, the sense of color be-
comes completely distinct from the sense of light.
Both red and yellow. with their different shades,
ore now clearly discerned. The third stage Is
marked by the recognition of green and Its va
lieties, which III point of lumlnOusness belong to
neither extreme In the fourth stage of the devel-
opment the perception of blue begins TO emerge
q perception which is not yet universally eStaO-
lished, many persons not being able to dis
tinguish between blue and green, especially by
candle light The argument for this view of the
gradual development of the coloT-Sense is mainly
of pathological character and derived from the
language of the Vedas, the Hebrew Scriptures, and
the HomeTic poems.
The author of this volume, on the other hand,
maintains that the sense of color dates back to the
earliest appearance of the race Of mankind upon
Al. of
natural selection, from their prehistorical fru-
givorous ancestors who acquired it by the exercise
of their sense of vision upon brght-colored food
stufs. lie also maintains that the taste for bright
colors was shared by all fower-feedng or fruit
eating animals. and that it was manifested in the
scxualselcctionof brilliant mates. well as i'll other
secondary modes, such as the various human arts
The existence Of bright colorng in the world, ac-
Cording to the author is almost entirely due to the
influence of the color-sense in the animal kingdom
Not that animals have any concern with the great
masses of color in the shades of earth, sky ana
other natural inorganic boGIes. Even the green
leaves of the trees and grasses appear to be quite
independent of man or beast. Still Mr. Allen con-
tends that a vast proportion of the coored objects
with which We are most familiar owe their hues 10
the perceptions of some animal, insect, bird. or
mammal This point is illustrated by examples
taken from common life. Every object in our
drawlnc-rooms for instance has obtained its color
entirely with reference to human tastes ana fances
Not only have the pictures and ornaments been so
painted as to please the eye, but the carpets the
wallpaper, the damask on the chairs and sofas
the dress Of the women and children, have all been
dyed on purpose TO crafty the Ofslght There
"a scarcely an article of human and manu-
facture which has not received some special treat
,,1a p,lnr hxs al npUtC
or dyes.
In like manner the influence of the taste for color
in the animal races may be traced out in the hues
Of blossoms and the tints of fruits, which are due
10 the action of natural selection in the of
ages. The existence of flowers is ascribed to the
agency of insects and the colors of all brghthued
seeds and fruits to that of vertebrate animals The
first problem thus presented for discussion is to
account for the existence of coOr-sense in the in
sect eve and to discover the objects for the sake of
which this mode Of perception was developed. The
inorganic world affords no clew to the mystery.
The dull clay and gray rocks have none of the
brilliancy which is needed to stimulate the organ
of vision Nor could the effect have been produced
by tho occasional displays Of color in the action of
sunlight through the medium of refractive vapor.
Long before the first insect vision had learned 10
distinguish between red, yellow, and blue, the
various rays which we call by those names poured
down unnOticed upon the prmeval world. The
rainbow scattered ten thousand colors upon the
dull gray clouds, but eye drank in the enchant-
ment of the changing hues The sunset crlmsoned
the west with dying glory and bathed the horizon
in floods Of golden light, but no living thing beheid
its loveness. Such transient displays had little or
no effect on the tiny creatures that timidy picked
ont precariOus livelihood amid the shades of the
rrimeval forest. Ii was a slow process by which
the love Of brght-colOred food led to the choice
of bright-colored mates, and finally to love of
bright coors in general. The first development,
then of the coorsense is to be found in the insects
practical world of food and prey. In the origin of
flowers we discover also the origin of the insects
perception. 1t has been shown that the periods of
geological vegetation are divided among plants,
like ferns aud mOsses. which bear no fruits OF flow
ers among plants like pines and frs. which have
their blossoms and seeds IN dry scaly cones; and
true Towering plants, often bearing bright bells or
brilliant clusters of bloom, an always with their
seeds envelOped in some more or less conspicuous
form of fruit A division of the great epochs of
vegetable life, however, more appropriate to the
present purpose, would he into the reign of flower
less plants, Of wind-fertlized Towering plants and
of fnsect-fcrtilized Towering plants The latter in
clude all species in whicht the pollen is carried 10 the
stigma upon the head, legs. or bodies of insects.
In the great forests OF the ccrhoniierous era, as
Mr. Allen describes, few no flowers diversified
the unbroken green of the pI.neval world. Among
them all not single bright blossom displayed its
crimson petals OF its golden bells. Not single
fruit CLEANED red or orange among the embowcring
foliage. There was nothing but one universal cx-
panse of green. Wherever the eye of an imaginary
visitor could turn it would rest unbr)ken sea
of gllsteniug verdure. Equally unvared, no doubt,
was the hue of the insect world, which fed among
those green jungles of tangled fern and club-moss.
We may occasionally detect c0ckroach, or beetle,
or some uucanny creeping thing, but no trace of
bee or moth, or butterfly can be discovered in
those earlier ages of animal life No scarlet berry