Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1906-02-03
PROBLEMS IN COLORS
WHITE is COOL, YET ARCTIC ANIMALS
AS A RULE ARE WHITE.

white s-Why Have Nearly All Pur-
ME blossoms Poisonous PrOpertiesS
In summer weather ladies, and men,
too, when possible wear white. Why!
10 keep cool, of course, you Will say.
If this be so, why, then, are almost all
the creatures that live in arctic regions
clothed in white? The usual reply Is
that the white color is for protective
purposes-in order, in fact, to make
them invisible to their enemies In the
midst Of the wastes of snow.
But. consider. again, is this reasona-
BILE? From whom does the polar bear
need to hide? He has no enemies 10
fear. And as for the birds which as
sumo a white plumage when they NIL
crate north. surely they also have far
fewer foes in the polar regions than
when farther south.
Again, If white be cool color this Is
surely another reason against the in
habitants of the coolest regions turning
white at the approach of winter. 1t IS
easy to strengthen this argument. Visit
the tropics. and you will find hardly
any white animals or birds. In the very
hottest regions Of the globe not only IS
man. as a rule, black, but the birds and
beasts are either very dark or else ex-
tremely brilliant in color OF tropical
birds the commOnest colOrs run as FOL
lows: Brown, dark green and dark blue,
emerald green, reds and yellows.
Speaking of the birds again, why Is 1t
that land birds are mostly dark hued
while so many sea birds are white?
Here is another color puzzle. Almost
all song birds are somber in hue, while
the brightly cOlored species, such as the
laws. the parrots and birds Of paradise,
have naturally harsh voices.
The colors Of flowers and leaves offer
numbers Of interesting problems. No
one quite knows why the prevailing
tint of early spring flowers IS either
white or yellow. Yellow. indeed, holds
its own to some extent all through the
summer. but the typical color Of sum-
mer blooms is pink. while as the au-
tumn advances richer crimsons and all
the rich, glowing hues Of dahlias ana
chrysanthemums are seen.
Horticulturists have produced pop
pies of pretty nearly every shade under
the sun. and with many other flowers
they seem able to alter the colors al
most as they please. Yet the blue rose
the black tulip and the green carnauon
seem as far off as ever they were IN
spite of constant efforts to arrive at
them. Nearly three centuries age
Dutch gardeners imagined themselves
on the verge Of inventing black tulip
The colors Of the blossom Of fruit
,rees are limited to white, pink, bright
scarlet and purple. The reason no one
knows. Nor is it clear why nearly al
plants with purple blossoms have pol
sonous properties. The deadly night
shade is an instance which will bt
familiar to all country readers.
1t used to be said and many stil
imagine that intensity Of color depends
upon intensity Of light The brilliancy
of a tropical landscape seems IN some
measure to bear this out. But an!
amount Of arguments may be deduceC
against it. Rubies, Opals and othe
exclusively colored gems are dug from
the depths Of the earth.
The rays Of the sun have neve
touched them. The pulp of some fruit
"a more richly tinted than the QUITE
rind. while the crimson blood OF AM
mails Is hidden from the light. VIVA
couJd be more rich and magnificent u
color than the wings of many moths
Yet these are all night flying creatures
Speaking Of moths, it seems odd ina
there is no blue moth. Very few snow
even a touch or spot Of blue. Inc col
orings of butterflies present many pro1
lens. for there seems no order or meIh
cd in their hues and markings, and
strange point is the absolute difference
IN these points between species other
wise closely allied.
Why do autumn leaves turn yellow
Here is a question which is more cas-
ilv answered than some that have al
ready been suggested. The popula
reply is, THE frost does It," This 1
only partly correct If a really har'
frost were to happen early in autumn
there would be no tints at all. All IN
leaves would turn brown at once. IN
really gorgeous colOrs are produced o.
q slow and gradual fall of temperature
Of course. without too much wind o
rain The cold causes chemical rel
ment. which attacks the color CON
mounds in the cells Of the leaf. 1t
those leaves which contain most suga
which oxidize most rapidly and Q
which, consequently, the color become
most rich and brilliant.
A question which is often asked II
"Why do Holsters, shrimps and certal
other similar shellfsh turn red whe
boiledT 1t seems that the black colo
ing matter which cOlors the shell OF u
lobster during life IS an iron con
mound. We know that iron rust is REL
The effect of boiling Is practically
turn this iron compound in the lobst'
shell to highly oXidized rust
The dislike Of certain creatures II
certain colors is strange. If numb'
Of earthworms be placed in an oblor
box. Of which one half is covered vii
red and the other with blue glass, the
will with one accord crawl away fro
the blue light and take refuge und
the red glass Many other higher ere
lures share the same dislike to BIZ
rays.-Pearson's Weekly
. rD.skIa NffsfaEe