336 AUTUMNAL LEAVES. 



and during the various stages of fruition by this 

 charming plant, are far exceeded by the diversity 

 of its autumnal hues. 



To describe the form and venation of the 

 Bramble leaf may scarcely seem necessary, so 

 common ' is the shrub. Yet perhaps few plants 

 are so little noticed as this by reason of its 

 ' commonness ;' and we may, at least, say that 

 the three, four, or five leaflets of which its leaf is 

 composed are well worthy of minute examination. 

 From the general pear-shaped form the leaflets 

 vary much, being sometimes much broader than 

 they are at other times ; sometimes more or less 

 pointed at the apex ; sometimes slightly de- 

 pressed at the apex, and now and then nearly 

 round in general form. Occasionally, and indeed 

 not ^infrequently, a leaf will be found to possess 

 two normal leaflets and an abnormal or double leaf- 

 let, or one normal leaflet and two double leaflets ; 

 or, it may be, three normal leaflets and one double 

 leaflet. The margins of the leaflets do not much 

 differ in the character of their serratures, which 

 are ordinarily acute and almost spinous. From 

 the mid-vein, slightly waved branches run, on 



