The San Francisco call., 1905-01-08
QUEER FACTS>
ABOUT COLORS
Blue Rays Are Found to Be
Most Injurious to Animals
as Well as to Plant Life
CAUSE SMALLPOX SCARS
SunstrOke Can Be Prevented
by Wearing Orange-COl
Garments in Hot Weather

Put a growing plant under red glass
and it shoots UP very tall and spindly.
Green glass causes similar effect, but
not quite SO strongly marked. Blue
glass, on the other hand, seems to
dwarf vegetable growth.
A plant grown under blue glass is al
ways smaller than it's neighbor under
transparent glass. although the condi-
tions are otherwise similar.
A series of experiments in growing
plants under various colored glasses
was conducted by the well known as
tronomer Camille Flammarion, and the
results, as above, reported by him to
the French Academy.
Light and color are full of odd puz-
zles, many of which are still a good
deal of mystery. DR.. Neil Finsen,
famous for his electric light invention
for the cure of cancer, made exhaus
tive experiments on the effects of ami
NAL life.
One or two of these were interesting.
For instance, he placed a number of
earthwormS in box covered half with
red, half with blue glass. In every case
the worms were found to crawl away
from under the blue glass and take
shelter under the red, where they re-
mained quite content. Under blue light
they were invariably restless and i'll at
ease.
THE CHAMELEON.
A chameleon lizard was then placed
by the experimenter in small box, so
that half it's body was under blue and
the other half under red glass He
noticed that at once the part under the
blue rays turned black, while that part
under red light remained almost white.
1t was evident that the creature was
using its pigment cells to protect it
self against the disagreeable effects Of
the blue light.
1t is now universally acknowledged
that the blue rays are, of all the Wis
1ble rays received from the sun, the
only ones that can produce injurious
effects upon animal or plant life. 1t Is
these blue rays that cause soaring in
smallpox.
The skin in this disease becomes al
most as sensitive as a Photographic
plate. If the patient is kept in the
dark no soaring results. But a red
light is equally harmless as darkness
and less unpleasant to the patient.
Sunstroke, as it is called, is pro-
duced not by light rays at all, but by
the chemical rays of the sun. Sun
stroke may thus be termed a photo
graphic effect and therefore use color
to fight IT.
Treat the body as a photographer
treats his dark plates. Envelop it NOT
in black, as usually done, but in
orange. An orange-colored shirt and
coat lined with orange fabric have
actually been tried by officers in In
dia who. had to march during hot
weather. Men so attired were cer-
tainly rendered immune to sunstroke.
Certain blind persons can tell the
color of a flower by laying it against
their cheek. Actual experiment shows
that blossoms of certain colorS are in
reality warmer than those of other
tintS.
A scientist who recently carried out
a series of such experiments found
that dark reds and browns gave the
sensation of greater warmth, while
lemon yellow was the coolest color
Pink is warmer than white, but white
-curiously enogh-is warmer than
violet, blue or yellow.
A rather odd fact about yellow is
that yellow light has greater power
of penetration in foggy weather than
pure white one. 1t has been proved
that The yellowish light of oil or gas
in lighthouse lantern can be seen
farther out at sea than can the pure
white of an electric lamp.
In clear weather and by daylight
green is visible at the greatest distance
of any color, much fareher, for in
stance, than scarlet, which is usually
imagined to be the most brilliant of
colors. Indeed, blue, end even dark
gray, are far more visible at distance
than is scarlet.
About year ago the experiment was
tried at Aldershot of blotching a field
piece all over with splashes of different
color. 1t was found that at a short
distance 1t was quite indistinguishab BILE
from the hillside upon which it stood.
WARSHIPS ARE GRAY.
That gray light is most useful color
for purposes of concealment is proved
by the fact that warships are now
painted that color.
There are only three colors that cam
not be resolved into any simpler colors.
These are red, green and violet. 1t
seems odd, then, that the primary COL
ors are usually given as red, green and
yellow.
The fact is. however, that from the
latter all other known colors can be
compounded.
DR.. Baraduc produced Photographic
pictures of the emotions, taken by
means of an instrument termed the
magnetometer. Anger is shown as
rays diverging from a center. jealousy
as a cloud, love as q feathery shape.
More recently another investigator
has declared that all the emotions have
their respective colors and that these
are visible to persons under psychic in
fluence. >Anger flashes are Of deep and
lurid red. love is rose-pink, jealousy
green, while devotional thought is ex-
hibited in clouds of deep blue.-Wash-
ington Star.