The Seniors of the Forest 275 



chlorophyll-bodies which give the foliage its hue 

 lose their vivid color in the autumn and change to 

 a brownish-green. 



The pines and hemlocks are most noticeable in 

 winter, when there is no other green 

 in the landscape and when they are 

 contrasted with the snow; but in reality 

 their color is more intense in summer. 

 For in the first warm days of spring 

 the chlorophyll bodies in the needle- 

 shaped leaves resume their characteristic 

 color, and with it their " activity of 

 toil." 



New-born pine-leaves issue in pairs, 

 trios, or fives, from little brown buds, 

 which are covered with delicate semi- 

 transparent scales. These are regarded 

 as altered " needles," just as the scales FiG.~76. Leaf 

 which protect the winter- buds of many ^ u< j er SC ales 

 broad-leaved trees are altered leaves. p j ne (pinus 



The new needles of the white pine 

 (Fig. 76) come into the world in fives. Those of 

 the Jersey or scrub-pine are twins, and those of 

 the pitch-pine grow in clusters of three. Each of 

 our twenty-two native pines is faithful to some old 

 family custom in this respect, so that if we count 



