Over a long period of time scientists, philosophers, poets and artists have all concerned themselves with colors. Color lore is as old as mankind itself, and, since it was discovered that white light, i.e., daylight, is composed of all the colors of the rainbow and which can be split up into each individual color by means of a prism, physical researches of an exact nature have established the basis on which results of color therapy can be obtained to-day.

A long way back in time color lore differentiated "warm" and "cold" colors that exercise various external and internal influences upon our respective dispositions, and in this respect I now relate in support of the effects of color rays upon all living organisms, a remarkable experience I had with a Mr. J. Deighton-Patmore, the grandson of the famous poet Coventry Patmore.

Many years have passed since I called upon this "Magician of Light," as he was then known, at his flat in Mayfair. He showed me his "vessels of light" as he called them. Switching off all the lights in the room with the exception of one, which to me, had the appearance of what I termed a tall "blanc-mange" or "ice-berg," having a sickly bluish white hue something like "dirty" moonlight, if I may so describe it. Mr. Deighton-Patmore had named it "The Ice Age Lamp." And how aptly named it was, for almost at once I experienced a disagreeable sensation of cold almost to the point of shivering, although the actual temperature of the room had not changed. It would seem that these "starchy bluish" rays had some alterative effect upon the heat-regulating centre in the brain, and this theory would appear to find confirmation in the following experience:

The "Ice Age" lamp was switched off and now the lamp known as the "Sun Bowl" switched on. I soon felt all aglow from the warm orange rays emitted. A little later I was asked to stand sideways with one cheek close to, but not touching the lamp. There was a definite sensation of warmth. I was then requested to press my cheek against the illuminated bowl; but I remember hesitating to do so believing that the bowl would be uncomfortably warm. However, to my great surprise it was quite cool. I was then asked to look into a mirror and to compare the colour of my two cheeks, to find that the cheek that was exposed to the direct rays of the orange lamp was of a deeper red than the other.

Whilst this "Sun Bowl" lamp was still illuminated I was re­quested to go down a passage, quite a distance from the lamp, and read a book of fairly small print. Here again was a surprise in that I could see how very clearly the print stood out in that peculiar subdued orange light, making the reading so easy, thus evidencing the great penetrating power. It is just because all this made such an impression upon me at the time so many years ago that I can recall the details with such facility.

Goethe, of course, was the great authority on color, with whom the erstwhile dissenting experts had perforce to agree. In more modern times there was a Dr. E. D. Babbit, who wrote that encyclopedic work, "The Principles of Light and Color," and since then further research has been carried out by E. J. Stevens, M.Sc., M.A., and also by Eh-. Starr-White.

Light travels at the inconceivable speed of 186,000 miles per second, and color is light in its various rates of vibration; for example, it is said that red, at one end of the spectrum, has a wave­length of .0000256 of an inch, and violet at the other end, has a wavelength of .0000174 of an inch. Below red is the infra-red and the invisible heat rays; above blue is the ultra-violet and chemical rays.

When there are coarse vibrations we have sound. Below 32 down to about 16 impulses per second the ear detects each separate impulse. Above 32 a musical note is produced. The highest note the ear can register is in the region of 25,000 vibrations per second. When the vibrations become higher or finer then color is mani­fested. These vibrations are now etheric and are no longer sound waves. The rate of vibrations of red is 450 trillions per second, and as the rate of vibrations increases so are the different colors seen. Each color has a distinct unchangeable period of vibration. In contrast to the red, violet's rate of vibrations is 780 trillions per second. Beyond this rate then color is no longer visible to the human eye. Now we have the ultra-violet and X-rays, etc. The former should be cautiously used; the latter not at all therapeutic-ally, and the same goes for radium too, only more so.

The conclusions of E. J. Stevens are summed up in these words: "Color-energy is as necessary as our meals in stimulating and maintaining our body activities. In fact, it is the color-energy within the food elements, particularly within the minerals, that re­stores our health and happiness. We may obtain this vital color-energy from all edible plant life." He became thoroughly convinced that color possesses not only properties for maintaining the health of the body, mind and spirit, but also curative powers in disease conditions.

An Indian doctor by the name of Dinshah P. Chiandali, who works at the Spectrochromo-Institute in New Jersey, has written much which is of interest in his reports. This doctor does not speak of diseases as such, but only of "discord" or "disharmony" of the make-up of the human organism; hence a return to the harmonious working of the body-mind results in a cure. Those who seek to be cured by Dr. Chiandali are treated by him gratuitously, but only on the understanding that those patients who are cured by his methods become his pupils, and what is more, that they try to maintain their new-found health by using the powers that are in­herent in colour.

Dr. Chiandali is of the opinion, and in this he is in agreement with other physicians who employ light and color in their treat­ments, that a more far-reaching stimulating action lies in colored light than is the case with white light—sunlight or artificial white light. He based his color therapeutics upon the results of modern medicine and chemistry. "Disharmonious causes" are removed by stimulating the natural healing power of the organism by means of various color rays. It goes without saying that such a healing method requires a thorough knowledge of chromo therapy.

Over many years of careful research and of laborious detailed work Dr. Chiandali arranged the prismatic colors into 12 grades, which he then subdivided into two groups, viz.:—One with a "content of yellow" and the other with a "content of blue." "Red" he named the "warm pole," "blue" the "cold pole." All illnesses that have a red color, e.g., fevers, inflammations, blood poisoning, swellings, etc., indicate that as "red" is the WARM pole an excess of heat is present. Now, in order to restore the balance, the cold color "blue" is necessary.

Chiandali also describes, inter alia, how wonderfully the color possessing the opposite pole acts. Here is an illuminating example: A nine-year-old girl had sustained a "fatal" burn of the third degree. The child was admitted to the Women's Hospital, Phila­delphia, where there is a color therapeutic department. The resi­dent physician at this hospital herself really believed that the case was absolutely hopeless, but in spite of this conviction she at once began to administer color rays. The scarcely hoped-for wonder happened. Already, after the first day, the child had practically no more pain, and in the course of time, the wounds healed without leaving even a scar behind. Eight photographic exposures were made in order to show the curative process and to provide evidence of the cure.

There are two hundred and thirteen kinds of inflammation that are differentiated by doctors. Chandali cites them all, but adds that it is not essential to know them all, the main thing is that one should know to which "group" the disharmony belongs. Thus, for example, he restored the sight to a seventy-six year old blind woman because he was able to determine the cause of blindness and the correct therapeutic color or colors required for the particular condition. It was a question of reducing the excitability of the nerves of the eye.

There are physicians also in Germany who employ color-therapy with success. One of the most meritorious pioneers of light and color was the head of the Scientific Association in Munich, a Professor Dr. Edwald Paul.

Those who are interested to the point of experimentation can watch the growth of the same species of plant under different colored glass frames; and people whose work compels them to sit long hours at a desk or table could experiment with separate pieces of silk of different colors within easy reach of the vision. By occasionally glancing at them they will find a pleasant relief from eye strain.
Those who study at night should do so by an amber, orange or deep yellow light, as either of these colors is a mental stimulant. Then prior to going to bed for the night the student should look easily at a large piece of silk of natural green and finally blue, which colors are calming and counteract the stimulating effect of the amber, orange, or yellow.

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