'( ^^F THE 



TENACIOUS 



> 



OAK-LEAVES 



April 28th 



T is not easy to get at the secret of the oak 

 in retaining its leaves throughout the whole 

 calendar, for here, in late April, are seen the 

 white and red oaks still defying the winds. 

 Now, if the oak-leaf were constructed on 

 the plan of the button-wood leaf, whose stem grows 

 like a protecting cup over the bud of the following 

 year, we could readily frame a theory; but it does noth- 

 ing of the kind. These persistent oak-leaves are placed 

 beneath the new buds, while those of the button -wood 

 fell in early autumn, exposing the tender bud to the 

 winter storms. 



If we examine the white- oak branch, we shall find 

 that many of the leaves have been twisted off by the 

 wind, leaving only a short remnant of a stem beneath 

 the buds; and even these adhere so tenaciously as to 

 leave a fresh green scar upon removal. They yield 

 only as they are pushed off by the swelling bud above 

 them. 



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