562 



THE NATURE BOOK 



range of colour, 



varying according 



to the season, from 



clear yellow to 



rusty brown, 



spreads itself over 



fc^ "* 'IM^^ the whole tree. The 



\^V^<:|^^W clusters of spiked 



^^ 'HKt fruits, passing from 



green to brown, 

 perhaps open on 

 the tree, often fall 

 to the ground with 

 a thud to open 

 there, exposing the 

 brilliant seeds. 



The bark is mod- 

 erately smooth but 

 scaly. The twigs 

 are stout, as is 

 needful, since they 

 must support great 

 weight of leafage. 

 The biids are ar- 

 ranged, as those of 

 the maples, in 

 opposite pairs. En- 

 closed in stout 

 scales, they are 

 further protected by 

 a thick coating of 

 varnish. The leaf- 

 scars are large, light 

 in colour, shield or 

 hoof shaped, depressed as if branded into 

 the substance of the twig. They show 

 from seven to nine leaf-traces. 



The leaves are compound, having usually 

 seven leaflets. Each leaflet is of large 

 size, rounded near the apex, to which it 

 tapers suddenly, ending in a point, narrow- 

 ing gradually to its junction with the 

 stalk. A single compound leaf may 

 measure as much as twenty inches across, 

 and be supported by a stalk nearly a 

 foot long — an admirable sunshade. In 

 the fall the several leaflets, as with the 

 ash, often separate singly, leaving the 

 long stalk still attached to the tree. 



The flower cluster is pyramidal on a 

 central branched stalk. The flower petals 

 are white, with markings of yellow and 

 splashes of red and purple, crisp and 

 crim])ed. The stamens, when mature, pro- 

 ject, curving upwards, and are tipped with 

 red. Cross fertilisation is provided for. 



HORSE CHESTNUT 

 TWIG AND BUDS. 



In some flowers only the stamens mature, 

 in others the stigma only, whilst, in those 

 that develop both, the stigma is receptive 

 before the stamens yield their pollen. 

 Only those near the base of the cluster 

 produce fruit. In each flower is good 

 store of nectar so disposed as best suits 

 the convenience of the humble bee, whose 

 services are thus requisitioned for the 

 conveyance of the pollen. 



The fruit is a rounded prickly ball. It 

 opens along three lines, exposing one to 



TRUNK AND BAKK OF TllL HORSE CHESTNUT. 



three large seeds, rounded, richly coloured, 

 polished and veined, as jewels embedded 

 in pillows of creamy satin. 



THE LI.ME 



The Lime, or more correctly the Linden, 

 also lays great claim to our regard. Its 

 nobility as a tree is as marked as is that 

 of the Horse Chestnut, but of a less sturdy 

 nature. It may stand alone, embodiment 

 of gracious stateliness. It is, however, 

 seen at its best when associated with 



