306 AUTUMNAL LEAVES. 



Small and club- shaped in form, the leaves of 

 the Barberry are very beautifully spined upon 

 the margins and very curiously and beautifully 

 veined throughout their tissue. From the mid- 

 vein a series of branches take an irregular, con- 

 torted course, spreading over every part of the 

 tissue and presenting an appearance which may 

 be likened in form to a species of irregular mosaic 

 work. It is like, in fact, few other leaves, as a 

 glance at our illustrative figures, in which the 

 artist has excellently rendered the venation, will 

 show. Between the veins prominently shown on 

 both sides of the leaf for they are raised or 

 embossed, on both the upper and under sides 

 there is a still finer and more elaborate system of 

 venation occupying the spaces which the larger 

 veins enclose. 



Hues of yellow, orange, and red are the promi- 

 nent characteristics of the autumn tinting of the 

 Barberry, and in the early season of change these 

 colours are oftentimes spread very beautifully over 

 its leaves. Whilst some will turn uniformly from 

 the green to a bright golden yellow, others will 

 become yellow at the sides or the top or the 



