306 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. 



and active. I was much surprised to see the Banded Purple 

 again (Limenitis ArtkemisJ, on the 4th of this month, after 

 it had so long disappeared : but I conclude it was only an 

 occasional straggler^ or one of an unusually late hatching. 



F. — The Ruby-throat humming-bird, not deterred or 

 driven away by our frosts, is still courting the remaining 

 flowers. He will soon, however, take his departure for a 

 sunnier region. 



C. — I have observed that the Black CheiTy leaves are 

 turning yellow. 



F. — The Brown Ash is the first tree that feels the effect 

 of the season : it cannot withstand the breath of winter. 

 The veiy first hard frost that comes denudes the ash, not 

 only causing its leaves to fade and become yellow, as those of 

 other trees, but blackening and shrivelling them up, so that 

 they fall in showers, with the least breath of wind. Most 

 of the ashes are already as bare as in winter. 



C. — The ash is about the last that leafs in spring : can 

 any parallel be drawn between the times of the expanding 

 and the fading of the leaves of forest trees ? 



F. — No ; they show no regularity in this respect. The 

 ash, butternut, basswood, and beech, leaf about the same 

 time, very late in the season : the ash and the basswood 

 fade early ; the former first of all ; but the butternut main- 

 tains its foliage late, and the beech continues brightly gi'een, 

 long after many other trees are faded. The maple is late in 

 expanding, but it fades gradually, and loses its leaves nei- 

 ther very late nor very early, — about the same time as the 

 birch, which also leafs with it ; but the elm, which leafs 

 likewise at the same time, is denuded long before either. 

 The poplar and willow leaf early and fade late : the black 

 cherry leafs and fades early ; and the tamarack buds very 

 early, and remains braving the autumnal storms the latest 



