STUDIES OF LEAF AND TREE (PART 1) 



of the year gathered thoughtfully and understanding^ ; they should exhibit, 

 in the case of any species, not only the typical form of the matured leaf, 

 but its variations, its young and old stages, its coloration and changes in 

 the autumn, the dead leaf in winter, its hybrids, and finally some of its 

 most striking anomalies. 



In the pressing of leaves the main thing to be attended to is to see 

 well to it that they are, in any particular case, properly spread out between 

 the sheets of whatever paper is used before putting them into the press. 

 Thin and delicate leaves press very quickly others take much longer; but 

 under no circumstances should they be removed from the press before 

 they are perfectly dry. Highly colored autumn leaves will sometimes stand a 

 very thin application of the best varnish, which brings out their color beauti- 

 fully. This should dry out thoroughly before the specimen is consigned 

 to its proper folio. 



31 



These folios should all be of the 

 modate as big leaves as are to be ordi- 

 narily found some of the magnolias 

 for example. Some leaves are so 

 large, that the only way to include 

 them is by making suitable photo- 

 graphs and inserting prints of them 

 in their proper places. The camera 

 will help out in illustrating a great 

 many other points in leaf-study and 

 collecting. White paper, such as is 

 used by botanists, is employed for 

 the pages of the folios ; and in the 

 various volumes the leaves should be 

 preserved along classified lines, 

 arranged according to some well de- 

 vised system. Neatly written, or on 



same size, in that they may accom- 



YOUNG OF THE RED CEDAR (/. virginiana) 

 BEFORE ANY CHANGE IN THE FOLIAGE 

 HAS TAKEN PLACE. 



Fig. 4 It is interesting to compare this specimen 

 with the much older tree shown in Fig. 3. 



TERMINAL PARTS OF TWO LIMBS OF THE 

 SWEET GUM TREE (Liquidambar stryaciflua 

 Linn.) IN THE SPRING TIME. 

 Fig. 6 This is one of America's grandest trees, 

 long known in song and story. Sometimes we 

 hear it spoken of as the "Star-leaved Gum" on 

 account of the regular pattern of its leaves. 



a printed slip we should invariably 

 find in the lower right hand corner 

 of the page carrying the leaf or 

 leaves, a succinct account of the speci- 

 men : scientific and vernacular name 

 of the tree; locality; date of collec- 

 tion ; collector, etc. In a notebook 

 full particulars should be written out 

 of each specimen and what it shows; 

 index pagination can be employed to 

 make ready reference to this. 



If convenient the student will be 

 well repaid should he or she visit a 

 first-class herbarium and get the 

 botanist in charge to supplement some 

 of the above instructions. 



It goes without the saying that the 

 foliage of some trees will be very difficult to tastefully preserve for refer- 

 ence as many of the conifers for example, and other big and coarse growths. 

 Speaking of the Conifers, reference is made to that well-known group of 

 trees that include all the true cone-bearing species. A "cone" of any of 

 these is so well known an object to most people that it hardly needs any 

 description. In Fig. I we see a typical cone of the Jersey or Scrub pine ; 

 its overlapping scales are thick, and a backward-turned prickle is to be 

 found at the tip of each of them. All the scales are attached to a central 

 stem, and to each is attached the naked ovule. The ovules nearest the 

 middle of the cone run the best chance of maturity and forming the 

 best seeds. This is particularly the case in those softer-leaved cones of 

 other conifers, where the scales close up more or less at the ends. This 

 either hopelessly stunts the seeds, or kills them outright. 



We have a very large number of coniferous trees in this country, and 

 they are grouped as the Pinaceae ; while the Yews, which markedly differ 

 from them, constitute the Taxaceae, there being but one species of the latter, 



HERE WE HAVE SOME MAGNIFICENT 

 SPECIMENS OF THE ACORNS OF THE 

 CHESTNUT OAK TREE. 



Fig. 9 Both Chestnuts and Oaks belong in the 

 same family the Beech family (Fagaceae). One of 

 our grandest oaks is the Chestnut Oak (Quercus 

 prinus) ; its leaves to some extent resemble those 

 of the Chestnut tree. 



