THE NEW EARTH 



starch and sugar as well as the life principle 

 itself, the protoplasm, traveling backward to 

 give their enrichment to the fruit, color and 

 texture and food value. Little by little, too, 

 the tree is forcing its leaves to die. It forms 

 rings of separation tissue, so to call them, lay- 

 ers of cells in reality, at the base of the leaf, at 

 last so nearly cutting it off that it falls of its 

 own weight or is blown off and sent scurrying 

 along the dry ground by the swirling autumn 

 winds. A German writer, Kerner, discussing 

 the subject and noting the withdrawal of the 

 protoplasm, starch, sugar, and so on, from the 

 leaf-blades says: 



"In this way the plant suffers only the 

 slightest loss in the material manufactured by 

 it in the preceding vegetative period ; for the 

 leaves, from which everything useful has been 

 transported into the stem structure, now form 

 nothing more than a dead framework, and their 

 cell chambers contain only small yellow gran- 

 ules, together with crystals and calcium oxal- 

 ate, which cannot be employed further and are 

 of no more use. The shining yellow granules 

 which are found in the cells of fallen leaves, 

 and to which is due the yellow coloring of the 



72 



