The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1879-11-20
COlors i'm Living Creatures.

The ce1ors which predominant in the
whole mass of living creatures of al
kinds are tints of green, brown, or red,
ish yellow. Bright colors, such as blue,
scarlet, crimson, gold, or silver, are ex.
ceptional, and the color blue is especi
ally rare. The borrowed radiance OF
the inorganic world, in the form Of
metallic brightness, is especially a char
icteristic of those living gems, the hum
ming-birds but not few other ami
mails also exhibit it. Thus, of birds
more or less gifted with metallic radi-
xnce, though in less degree than hum
ming-birds, may be mentioned the sun
birds, the trogons, and the beautiful
family of pheasants; and many insects
and many fishes shine with metallic
tints. Brightness of this kind Though
the leaves of few plants have cop
perry luster) is unknown in the world of
plants, in which shades of green are
Overwhelmingly predominant, and are
universally present, except in a few ex-
ceptional forms, notably the fungi. Va
rious aquatic animals belonging TO very
different groups agree in possessing
a perfectly glass-like transparency.
Among them are fish which live
in the ocean; for example, the Teleos-
team fish (LeptOcepbdlttS), also mollusca
of all kinds, including even perfectly
transparent cuttle-fishes. There are
also glass-like crustaceans, and also
planarians and sea-anemOnes. Plants,
however, never present this character,
although by it they might, as well as
animals, escape being preyed upon.
Most fishes which inhabit the deep sea
are of a dull black color, though some
are white, and the majority of all deep
sea animals, considered as whole, are
more or less decidedly colored, many
brightly So Luminosity is a character
of many lowly animals, and it is the
presence of minute creatures possessing
this character which so often causes the
spray dashed from the PROV of an adj
vancing ship to appear like shower of
sparks, while glowing bodies traverse
the water beneath its surface. Many
insects, such as fire-flies and glow
worms, are VIGOROUSLY luminous. In
the vegetable world, however, this char
acter is very rarely present, being only
so in certain fungi, some of which eX-
hibit a wonderful luminosity. Hum
bOldt relates that he found this to be
especially splendid in mines. As like
phenomena of color characterize certain
groups of living creatures, so also like
phenomena of color may characterize
certain geographical regions, being
common to creatures of very different
kinds which inhabit such regions, as we
shall hereafter see. The brightest of
living things, the humming birds, have
their true home in the equatorial region
of America, to which continent they are
exclusively confined. But it is in the
equatorial region of the whole earth
that we find the most brilliant birds of
other kinds, the most brightly colored
reptiles and fishes, the largest and many
of the loveliest butterflies, moths, and
beetles, the most beautiful orchids, the
largest of all flowers and of all clusters
of flowers. But neither the temperate,
or even the arctic or antarctic chimes
are denied the glory of bright tints in
the long days of their brief, but some
times fervid summer. Indeed, the gold
en- burst of gorse and glow of heath
er in our temperate zone have, in their
way, an unequaled charm; while every
here and there arctic lands and alpine
heights exhibit beauties of color which
are hardly elsewhere presented by the
field of animated nature to the eye of
man.-,St. George NiUGrt, IN COntempo-
rdTV ReUie1C.