Dark Color at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

The standard dark mink is, in reality, a mutation developed by crossing and selective breeding of the various geographical "races" of wild mink for the dark color. Dark mink usually are the same color over the entire body surface, but there is a greater concentration of pigment in some areas. As a result, the head, tail, and feet appear darker, and there is a dark dorsal stripe (also known as the "grutzen") extending down the back from head to tail. The eyes, nose, and claws are dark brown. Frequently there are white markings on the belly, chin, throat, and breast. The standard dark mink is the norm to which all mutations may be compared, and from which the other color phases have been developed.

When planning color combinations, you need to consider how bright or dark a decor should be and what range and intensity of color to use. For lively color harmony, it helps to know a few basic principles of color theory and to understand how different colors influence one another when used in interiors.

Rough field classifications employ two principles, color index and grain size. The color index is the proportion of dark-colored, or femic, minerals (olivines, pyroxenes, amphiboles, biotite, iron ores) to light-colored, or salic, minerals (quartz, feldspars, muscovite). Rocks are light-colored, or leucocratic, if the color index is less than 10, mesocratic if it is between 10 and 50, and dark-colored, or melanocratic, if it is more than 50.