170 



[RISH GARDENING 



NOVEMBER 



like Sol 



Aristolochia sipho, with eiionnous lca\cs .iiul 

 curious llowers, an excellent shrub to coxer an 

 arbour ; Celastrus articulatus, which produces 

 ornamental Iruils in autumn ; Menispermum cana- 

 dense, a rampant i^rower, tloiuMshinj^- in damp 

 soil ; Solanum Liulcamara \ariei^ala. with 

 |irettily-marked lea\ es and clusters oi' red fruits 

 in autumn. It is obviously impossible to set 

 anv limit to the selection ol" shrubs suitable tor 

 pertfolas, &c., so much depends on the locality. 

 In warm districts plants 

 noides and S. crispum 

 would llourish. but would 

 not l^e suitable in colder 

 places. V o 1 \ i^' o n u m 

 baldschuanicum llowers 

 t"reei\- when established, 

 and can be used for any 

 of the purposes under 

 notice. 



Sifjns of Autumn 



the ten 

 sunli-ht 

 the leaf 

 low ari.l.s 

 tin- o\Y 

 cork CO I 

 ol the 

 slo\\l\' 

 actions 

 the leaf 



idu; 

 kn\ 



unii 



>tablish 





I 



V 



r month we drew 



attention to the 



process resulting- 

 in the natural fall of 

 leaves in deciduous trees. 

 Referrins.,'- to this subject 

 one o( our readers asks 

 why it is that in some 

 vears the autumnal tints 

 are more varied and 

 beautiful than in other 

 years, and if in the case 

 of fruit trees the earliness 

 or lateness of the " fall " 

 has any influence upon 

 the fruit crop of the fol- 

 lowing- year? 



Let us attempt an answer to these two 

 questions. The chief duty of a leaf is to provide 

 food for the entire tree. This food (mainly 

 starch) is manufactured in the g-reen leaf from 

 water drawn up from the soil and carbonic acid 

 g-as taken in directly from the air. The amount 

 of starch made during- any particular period will 

 depend on the abundance of moisture in the 

 soil and the intensity of sunlight. Unless the 

 leaves are kept plump and g-org-ed with water 

 the machinery cannot work, while without 

 sunlig-ht of sufficient intensity the machinery 

 fails to run efficiently because of lack of power. 



[F. 



normal season the \italit\- of the leaf, 

 ilXT.iture of the air, the w ;itei- su|->pl\ and 

 wanes so that the work of 

 -■tluccLl as the year advances 

 rile natural process of cut- 

 tlie lorniation oi' a layer of 

 iither to a i^iadual checking- 

 iply. The conditions thus 

 induce certain chemical 

 ce within the li\ing- cells of 

 luce the colour chang-es so 

 tamiliar in the autumnal 

 tints oi' foliag-e. From 

 this it will be readily 

 understood how weather 

 exercises such an influ- 

 ence upon the internal 

 colour chang-es in the 

 leaf. In a cool, wet year 

 the leaves niay retain 

 their g-reenness until the 

 frost comes, and then the 

 process of corking- oft" is 

 done rapidh' ar.d with 

 very little resulting- beauty 

 of foliag^e. 



There is a popular 

 notion that the abund- 

 ance or scarcity of berries 

 in any particular autumn 

 is an indication of the 

 character of the approach- 

 ing- winter. If there is 

 a g-reat crop of berries 

 a severe winter is pre- 

 dicted by the averag-e 

 countryman. As a matter 

 of fact, there is no con- 

 nection whatever between 

 the two phenomena, but there zs a connection 

 between the fruit crop of one year and the 

 weather of the previous summer. 



It is in this wise. While it is the special 

 work of the foliage to manufacture sufficient 

 starch to feed the entire tree, it is the first duty 

 of each leaf to feed its own bud nestled at its 

 base. The amount of food it can make in ex- 

 cess of the quantity withdrawn for current 

 g-rowth will largely influence the fate of its own 

 particular bud. If it can lay up a store of 

 reserve food round the immediate vicinity of 

 the base of the very young bud it will tend to 

 excite its development into a flower bud. If 



A Species oe Spir.ka 



pliotograph lalcen in Messrs. Watson's Nurseries.] 



