Color Names.                               9

ored space designated as no. 2 ; and in tone between the
full color (middle horizontal line) and tint b. Its desig¬
nation, therefore, is 2a. Exactly the same method
applies to any of the other blank spaces, as well as to
the colors themselves, except that in case of the broken
colors the "primes" (', ", "', "", or ""') are to be afiixed
to the hue number. First locate the hue, designated by
number, then the tone, designated by lower case letter,
the full, pure colors of the middle horizontal row being
designated by number alone.

Color Names.—While it is true that the naming
of colors as usually employed has so little to do with the
purely technical aspects of chromatology or color-physics
that, as Von Bezold remarks* "we are in reality dealing
with the peculiarities of language," it is equally true that
a collection of color standards designed expressly for the
purpose of identifying and designating particular colors
can best attain this object by the use of a carefully
selected nomenclature. In other words, the prime ne¬
cessity is to standardize both colors and color names, by
elimination of the element of "personal equation" in the
matter. In no other way can agreement be reached as
to the distinction between "violet" and "purple," two
color names quite generally used interchangeably or
synonymously but in reality belonging to quite distinct
hues, or that any other color name can be definitely
fixed. Various methods of handling the matter of color
in zoological and botanical descriptions, etc., by the
avoidance of color names and substitution therefor of
symbols, numerals, or mechanical contrivances (as color-
wheel and spectrum analyses, color-spheres, etc.) have
been devised but all have been found impracticable or
unsatisfactory. The author has taken the trouble to get
an   expression of   opinion  in   this   matter   from  many

♦The Theory of Color (Aujerican edition, 1876), p. 99.