The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1901-03-08
ODDITIES ABOUT COLOR.
This Authority Says There Are Many
Deadly POisOns That Are
Decidedly Blue.

Did you ever notice that there is no
blue food? We eat things green, and
red, yellow and violet; flesh, fish or
plants in all the colors of the rainbow
except blue. Many deadly poisons are
blue in color, such as bluestone or the
deadly nightshade flower. The color
stands in our slang for everything mis-
cradle and depressing. But this is
only one of thousand queer facts
about colors. Heat bar of iron and
the particles of the metal are set in
motion, shaking violently one against
another. Presently the surrounding
ether is set in motion in large, slow
waves, rolling through the air like the
waves of the sea, until they break upon
our skin and give us the sensation of
heat. AS the iron gets hotter other
waves are set in motion in lightning
speed, and these break upon the eye,
giving the sensation of red light, says
the ST. Louis Republic.
The red-hot iron, getting still more
heated, throws out other sets of waves
still smaller and more rapid-orange,
yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, all
the colors of the rainbow. The eye can
not tell one from another; the whole
bundle of rays mixed up gives us an
impression of white. That is the glow
from the "white-hot" iron, and such is
the light from the still greater bright
ness of the sun. Sunlight is a bundle
of rays and light-red, orange, yell
low, green, blue, indigo and violet all
mixed together. The mixture of all
colors is white light, the absence of all
colors is utter darkness.
Now, pass a ray of sunlight through
a drop of water, and the colored rays
are split up and thrown in different di
rections. The sunlight shining through
many drops of falling rain after
shower is all split up into colors, and
the result is the gorgeous rainbow.
The scattered spray of sea wave, of
a waterfall or mountain, makes little
rainbows, caused in the same way.
Each kind of light has its own special
uses. The red rays of light make the
leaves of the trees to grow and hasten
all rotting and decay. Moreover, if you
cut off the red rays, plants will grow
with golden-brown leaves instead of
green.
The sea is blue because the water re-
fleets the blue rays of light, but shall
low seas are green, because the blue
light is mixed with the yellow reflec-
lions from sand and stones at the bot
tom. In this green light of shallow
water all seaweeds grow, and for want
of the red rays they have golden and
tawny leaves. Green and red seaweeds
are as rare as blue tree leaves. At this
rate land plants grown under green
glass ought to turn golden brown, like
seaweed. They do. Experiment has
shown that under green glass plants
grow nearly as well as under clear sun
light.
Under red glass nearly all plants
grow four times as quickly as under
white light, grow to four times their
usual height and throw out fine dis
play of green leaves. This is clear proof
that the red rays of sunlight cause the
green leaves to grow. This discovery
will be of immense help to gardeners
who want to force their plants and to
farmers trying to induce early crops
of vegetables.
Blue glass has directly opposite eff
feet. Plants will neither grow nor die;
they languish, and yet remain alive.
The blue makes them sleep. The effect
is exactly that of moonlight and star
light, when all plants take their nat.
ural rest.