BIRCH. 303 



into scollops, and is sharply, and prettily, in- 

 dented. The form of the leaf is rounded with a 

 slightly indented base, and a sharp, abrupt apex. 

 Brown green and russet, are the tints that con- 

 trast in autumn woodlands with the green of the 

 Hazel: and it is in the picturesque disposition of 

 these tints that the charm of its colouring lies. 

 A green centre may be immediately surrounded 

 by golden brown, and that in turn edged by an 

 irregular line of dark russet ; or dark splashes of 

 russet may interrupt the uniformity of golden 

 green. Nearly the whole of the leaf may be dyed 

 with a stain of bright yellow, with just one central, 

 or nearly central, spot of green : or green and 

 golden yellow may spread in alternate bands upon 

 the greater portion of the tissue, whilst at the tip 

 of the leaf, at the edge, or at the bottom, there 

 may be a large patch of bright green. These are 

 some of the variations which, in a single hedge- 

 bank, may be numbered by ten thousand. 



Yery small but very elegant is the leaf of the 

 Birch. It may be said to be nearly four-sided, 

 sharply pointed at the apex and acutely serrated 



