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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



world is filled with untold billions of leaves, no two of which are 

 exactly alike. " It is undoubtedly the fact that we do not fully 

 appreciate either the beauty or the usefulness of trees ; but after 



Fig. 2. Catalpa Leaf. 



we have become really familiar with them, and have learned 

 readily to distinguish the different species, we find ourselves in a 

 new world of absorbing interest, in which beauty and use have 

 expanded to proportions far beyond our previous conceptions." 



Many pleasant and profitable lessons can be learned from Mr. 

 Mathews's two hundred and odd sketches of leaves taken from 

 Nature, with their accompanying brief descriptions. The single 

 lesson to which we would here call attention is the variety in the 

 forms of leaves. The purpose and condition of the life of the 

 tree are revealed in no small measure by its leaves. 



The needle of the pine enables the tree to withstand a hurri- 

 cane on a mountain top, yet its slender figure is perfectly adapted 

 to the task of gathering light and air for the tree's life. 



Not less plainly does the diversity of character in a leaf reveal 

 the diversity of tree life itself. No two leaves are exactly alike ; 



