178 AUTUMNAL COLOUR 



was dyed in Tyrian hues ; while the true ash, too often 

 overtaken by early frost and stripped while its leaves 

 are still green, had turned clear yellow, presenting an 

 appearance so radiant as to justify Virgil's encomium 

 in silvis pulcherrima. 



Now the summer of 1915 has been the very reverse 

 of that of 1912 in south-western Scotland, at least; 

 for in that happy land we had no share of the 

 excessive wet which soaked the hay and endangered 

 the harvest in southern and midland England. Not 

 only so, but it was the third ideal summer which we 

 enjoyed in succession. Autumnal colouring might 

 have been expected to respond in an unusual degree to 

 the lavish sunshine which is supposed to be needful in 

 preparing the pigments. And no doubt it was good, 

 owing mainly to the long tract of calm weather which 

 lasted throughout September till near the end of 

 October. But it would have been better had there not 

 come a very sharp frost, nine and ten degrees even in 

 seaboard districts, on the nights of 4th and 5th 

 October. The leaves of many trees were shrivelled 

 before they had time to turn ; of others, the foliage 

 which had already turned, the Norway maple and the 

 beech for instance, appeared as if it had been singed, 

 all the fine colour being quenched. The conclusion to 

 which many years of observation have brought me 

 is that fine autumn colouring depends less on the 

 character of the preceding summer than on the 

 absence of violent winds and early frost. 



The splendour of the 'fall' in North America is 

 often attributed to the great heat of the continental 



