Yellow ochre

“ Red ochre is a form of specular iron ore; brown ochre is a variety of hæmatite. The yellow ochres become red when calcined, but the finest reds are made from those which are brown in the bed. Native red ochre is called red chalk or reddle in England. Spanish Brown, Indian Red, Venetian Red, and the yellow ochres have nearly the same composition. The other ochres are known as Oxford, Roman, and stone ochres, and as terra di Sienna and umber. They are all valuable and durable pigments for oil, water, or enamel painting. ”

“ In a box of colours found at Pompeii, and analyzed by Count Chaptal, he discovered yellow ochre purified by washing, which had preserved its original freshness. They may all be produced artificially in endless variety as they exist in nature, and are all converted by burning into reds or reddish-browns. Several ochres are found in the natural state of so very fine a quality, that they require no other preparation than that of being washed. ”

“ Ochre, or yellow Terra di Siena, forms earthy-looking masses, fawn, reddish-yellow to brownish-red in colour. Whilst not infrequent in Nature, ochre is only found in small quantities, as pockets, and not as extensive deposits. The discovery of a bed of good26 coloured ochre is, however, always a very valuable find, bright natural ochres being somewhat rare, and most kinds requiring special preparation before they can be used as painters’ colours. ”

“ Called also Mineral Yellow, is found in most countries, and abundantly in our own. It differs much both in constitution and colour, ranging from a tolerably bright though not vivid yellow to a brown-yellow, and is generally of a warm cast. Its natural variety is much increased by artificial dressing and compounding. The best yellow ochres possess no great force, but as far as they go are valuable pigments, particularly in fresco and distemper, being neither subject to change by ordinary light, nor sensibly affected by impure air, or the action of lime. ”

“ I have obtained the handsomest and darkest green by printing the design blue first and then printing over it a yellow plate, so that the yellow lay over the blue. By using Berlin blue and fine ochre a fairly handsome color is produced. On account of its loss of color in water, ochre cannot be used unless Venetian turpentine is first mixed with the varnish.
A handsome and at the same time dark yellow is equally hard to obtain. Till a good color is invented, we must content ourselves with ochre, Terra de Sienna, Neapolitan yellow, mineral yellow or chrome. ”

“ In the majority of cases the mineralogical characteristics of an ochre enable conclusions to be formed as to its suitability as pigment. Good ochre is more or130 less yellow to dark brown in colour, and can easily be crushed between the fingers to a soft, fine powder which feels like powdered steatite and does not produce a sensation of grittiness, this latter indicating the presence of fine grains of sand in the ferric oxide. ”

“ The yellow of the hair is like that of metals, of clay, of stone, and of various earthy substances, and like the fur of some mammals, and like xanthophyll in leaf and stalk, and the yellow sometimes seen in clouds. When Ossian, in his famous address to the sun, speaks of his yellow hair floating on the eastern clouds, we instantly feel the truth as well as beauty of the simile. We admire the yellow flower for the purity and brilliance of its colour, just as we admire some bird notes solely for the purity and brightness of the sound, however unlike the human voice they may be. ”

“ Yellow superciliary stripe not well defined, and only a tinge of yellow on the jugulum, the throat being grayish-white. Wings and tail nearly as in the adult. The young in autumnal plumage is similar, but the yellow occupies its usual area; it is, however, much duller, as well as lighter, than in the adult. ”

“ The female has much less yellow about the head, and the colours in general less vivid. The yellow hammer is subject to some variety in plumage. We have a specimen in which the whole head and neck is of a light yellow; some of the quill-feathers and scapulars white; and the under parts and rump pale yellow. The young birds have no yellow about them when first they leave the nest. ”

“ The female, who exceeds the male in size, is coloured similarly, but the lower edge of her tail is yellow or orange. Above the spine runs a depressed line, which is coloured yellow in the breeding season, which begins in April. The newly hatched, semi-transparent larvæ are yellowish-green with two black stripes along the back, which, later, when the ground colour changes to a light olive, become broken up into spots, and the flanks and underside become tinged with gold. ”

“ The bird has since come into my son’s possession, and the whole of the body plumage is vivid canary yellow, deepening on the neck and sides of the body and rump into a rich orange yellow; most of the scapulars and the quills are of the normal colour, except the first primary in each wing, which is yellowish white; tail feathers, canary yellow, excepting two of the outer lateral ones, which are partly normal ”

“ When we consider the dull and impure yellows sometimes seen in flowers, and some soft yellows seen in combination with pleasing wholesome reds, as in the honeysuckle, we may find something of the expression—the human association—in yellow flowers. For there is yellow in the skin, even in perfect health; it appears strongest on the neck, and spread round to the throat and chin, and is a warm buff, very beautiful in some women ”

“ The original colour of these ochres can be modified and varied into browns and reds of more or less intensity by calcination. The nature of the associated earth also influences the colour assumed by an ochre under calcination, aluminous ochres developing red and violet tints, while the calcareous varieties take brownish-red and dark-brown hues. The well-known Terra da Sienna which in its raw state is a dull-coloured ochre, becomes when burnt a fine warm mahogany brown hue highly valued for artistic purposes. ”

“ The whole lower part of the body is rich buffy yellow, including the tuft of plumes which spring from the sides, and extend an inch and a half beyond the tail. When skins are exposed to the light the yellow fades into dull white, from which circumstance it derived its specific name. ”

“ When we look from the dropwort to its nearest relative, the common meadow-sweet, we see how great a charm the touch of rose-red has given to the first: the meadow-sweet has no expression of the kind we are considering—no human association.
In pure yellow flowers, as in pure white, human interest is wanting. It is true that yellow is a human colour, since in the hair we find yellows [Pg_148] of different shades—it is a pity that we cannot find, or have not found, a better word than "shades" for the specific differences of a colour. ”

“ Oh! we perceive. It is a secret of the establishment, and we are not to ask questions about it. But among all these men employed here, are there none accessible to a bribe from a rival in the art? There is no saying; for the men cannot be tempted. They do not know, any more than ourselves, what this mysterious yellow is. But why does it not supersede the old-fashioned turmeric? It will, no doubt; and it is gaining rapidly upon it; but it takes time to establish improvements. The improvement in greens, however, is fast recommending the new yellow. This deep amber is a fine color. ”

“ Early Summer Flowers—Yellow.
In May or June hunt for the Yellow Lady Slipper or Whip-poor-Will's Shoe, a pretty little yellow Orchid. Mr. Baldwin, writing of orchids of New England, says: "Its preference is for maples, beeches, and particularly butternuts, and for sloping or hilly ground, and I always look with glad suspicion at a knoll covered with ferns, cohoshes, and trilliums, expecting to see a clump of this plant among them. Its sentinel-like habit of choosing 'sightly places' leads it to venture well up on mountain-sides." ”

“ Their Reds or deep Yellows, they can dilute by mixing pale Yellows with them, and deepen their pale by mixing deeper with them; for it is not with Opacous colours as it is with transparent, where by adding more Yellow to yellow, it is deepned, but in opacous diluted. They can whiten any colour by mixing White with it, and darken any colour by mixing Black, or some dark and dirty colour. ”

“ Eggs pale bluish white, speckled with purple-red.
Another northern bird, inhabiting the Arctic Regions, Scandinavia, and Russia, and travelling southwards in autumn. In the Orkney and Shetland Islands it is the most common, if not the only, species, and builds its nest among the corn or heath. It breeds from Derbyshire and northwards, but is very local; at one time it was very common on the Lancashire moors. Yellow-neb Lintie is a Scotch name given to it. In the countries where it is resident all the year round, it is very destructive to wheat in winter, and to turnips in summer. ”

“ Let us have as many good colours as possible, but let the new be superior to the old, and all be distinct from each other.
As far as yellows are concerned, the palette possesses both variety and durability. Opaque or transparent, bright or subdued, deep or pale, it presents a sufficiency of permanent pigments. Most noteworthy are aureolin, the deep and 'pale' cadmiums, lemon yellow, Mars yellow, the modern Naples yellow, the ochres, orient yellow, and raw sienna. ”

“ Adult male in fall and winter: Yellow of crown veiled by olive green; black of throat veiled by whitish tips; black streaking of upperparts less conspicuous. Adult female in spring: Like male in spring but duller, yellow of head less extensive, gray of upperparts dominating; black streaks reduced or obsolete; black of throat, etc., absent, white or dull yellowish instead; sometimes dusky spot of various proportions on chest. Young birds like adult female but yellow of crown veiled by olive and sides washed with brownish. ”

“ Male with the upper part of the head and hind neck black, bounded [135] anteriorly by a broadish band of bright yellow passing over the eyes; a narrow line of black margining the base of the bill; cheeks, lower part of hind neck, and throat, dark yellowish-olive, this colour gradually brightening on the body, until, on the outer edges of the scapulars, the rump, the axillars, lower wing-coverts, abdomen, and lower tail-coverts, it becomes pure yellow ”

“ Upon this as a background a scanty horse-hair lining may exhibit every one of its strands; or again, as in the case of a nest taken on the Chelan River, the eggs themselves may be thrown into high relief by a coiled black mattress.
[181] The male Yellow is very domestic in his tastes, insomuch that, quite unlike other Warblers, he will often venture to sing from the very bush in which his mate is sitting. Unless well accustomed to the presence of humans, the female will not sit patiently under the threat of close approach. ”

“ The greater yellow-legs is best known as an Arctic-American species, descending south during migration, and arriving in La Plata at the end of September or early in October, singly or in pairs, and sometimes in small flocks. Without ever being abundant the bird is quite common, and one can seldom approach a pool or marsh on the pampas without seeing one or more individuals wading near the margin, and hearing their powerful alarm cry—a long, clear note repeated three times. ”

“ It must be cut then, wet or fine, or the quality and aroma of the hay passes away beyond recovery. Perhaps it is an accident that most of our meadow flowers are white or yellow. The two most striking exceptions are from foreign soil, the purple-blue lucerne and the crimson sainfoin. But yellow is not the universally predominant hue of the flowers of grasses, for in Switzerland and the Italian Alps the hayfields are as blue with campanulas as they are here yellow with buttercups. ”

“ Yellow coloration in plants is also commonly associated with plastids, and is due to the relative abundance of xanthophyll or carotin present as compared with the true chlorophyll. The phenomenon of yellowness is most common in dying leaves, and is especially well shown in autumn. However, in many young leaves, especially where the nutrition conditions are unfavorable, yellow leaves also appear. Unfavorable nutrition is probably the cause of yellowness in most cases. In dying leaves the part near the veins usually remains green longest. ”

“ Then, however, those in the yellow cages go on increasing in yellowness—till, when adult, little or no black is visible on the upper side of the animal; whereas, in the case of those kept in black cages, the yellow spots become sprinkled with minute black dots which increase more and more till the yellow patches look dusty, and at the same time they diminish in size. ”

“ The yellows is a disease of peach-trees, which is spread by the pollen of the blossom. When a tree begins to turn yellow, take it away with all its roots, before it blossoms again, or it will infect other trees. Planting tansy around the roots of fruit-trees is a sure protection against worms, as it prevents the moth from depositing her egg. Equal quantities of salt and saltpetre, put around the trunk of a peach-tree, half a pound to a tree, improve the size and flavor of the fruit. ”

“ It seldom occurs in the formulas and its mythologic significance is as yet undetermined. Yellow is of more frequent occurrence and is typical of trouble and all manner of vexation, the yellow spirits [pg 391] being generally invoked when the shaman wishes to bring down calamities upon the head of his victim, without actually destroying him. ”