324 TROPICAL EFFECTS 



admirable precision, and not only are these highly compound leaves 

 decorative in themselves, but they respond with myriad undula- 

 tions to the slightest breeze; and the play of light and shade, as 

 the sun's beams sift down through these innumerable leaflets, is 

 a source of deep and never-ending joy. 



The language of the botanists rarely helps us to understand 

 beauty, but the word "pinnate" exactly describes the nature of 

 this feathery foliage. It refers to a leaf composed of many leaf- 

 lets which are arranged on either side of a common stem in a 

 definite order, sometimes alternate, sometimes opposite, some- 

 times with a single leaflet at the end, sometimes not. Here then 

 we have the physical basis, or body, of this kind of beauty. 



Now let us examine the hardy members of the legume famUy. 

 Among trees there are the honey locust, yellowwood, redbud, Jap- 

 anese pagoda, and Siberian pea tree, all of which are beautiful in 

 flower, while the common locust and the Kentucky coffee tree 

 are not quite as showy. Among shrubs there is the Cassia or 

 Maryland senna. Among perennials are Baptisia and Coronilla. 

 And among climbers is the noble wistaria. 



I freely admit that none of these is exactly like a mimosa. 

 All of them have larger leaflets than the most refined acacias of 

 the tropics. Doubtless they differ among themselves as much as 

 an equal number of women. But they all agree in having a certain 

 feminine charm. And I think that ought to be enough. For 

 these plants bring to us the spirit of tropical beauty in a form that 

 is adapted to our climate, since the plants remain outdoors the 

 year round. The letter of truth would be to grow acacias in tubs 

 in your greenhouse and put them in your garden in summer. But 

 that seems to me a very small and poor letter, for it does not give 

 us the birds and butterflies that belong with the acacia, and the 



