At first it seems to have only a dull grey or neutral tint. But if one goes to four or five feet distance, one discovers that many shades of brown, red, white, and black go to make this grey.
But the extraordinary beauty of such a wall is only visible when one peers and scrutinizes the surface very slowly and carefully with the eyes six or seven inches away from it.
In doing this, one is often troubled by rude and ribald boys. A botanical friend indeed complained that he had been for months avoided and shunned as a dangerous wandering lunatic on account of his botanical enthusiasm. But true botanists get accustomed to disagreeable incidents like that, and pay no attention to the vulgar crowd.
The change in an old wall when one looks at it from a few inches distance is most remarkable. The entire surface is spotted or dusted, sprinkled or entirely covered by thick lichen stains and crusts.
The original colour of the stone is nowhere visible. The lichens show the most delicate shades and contrasts in colour; all pleasing and all blending together in harmonious general tones. The fruit of these lichens is like a minute saucer or platter generally with a thin rim or border, but it is exceedingly small, probably only one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter, or even less. The smallest of these crust lichens form continuous, very thin, coatings, covering the stone; and against this background the little saucer-like fruits show up quite distinctly.
The coating itself varies from "bright yellow, pale ochre, citron, chestnut colour, to mouse colour, different shades of grey and green, cream colour, lead colour, blue-black or pure black, tawny, brown, rusty red or pure white." The cups of one kind (Lecidea[77]) are black, whilst those of Lecanora are generally reddish-brown. But they may be a ghostly pale hue which stands out plainly against the grey-green background of the frond.
Sometimes they are of the richest deep crimson or lake, set against a pure snow-white crust. Those of Lecanora vitellina are, though tiny, a brilliant yellow, and quite startling when first one notices them. Many of these contrasts and shades are never used by artists, and even from the mere artistic point of view they have great interest.
But if, after spending a few minutes in carefully looking over the rocks at a distance of six or seven inches, one stands up and goes back to four or five feet away, the whole of this colour scheme fades away and there is only the monotonous indeterminate grey or neutral tint of the wall.
Now why is this? Why should these delicate and exquisite shades be wasted on such minute and scarcely distinguishable forms?
There are always two sides from which one can look at any subject, namely the inside and the outside.