CHAPTER VI 

 THE GLORY OF THE AUTUMN 



THE WONDERFUL COLORING OF THE PASSING LEAVES, 

 AND WHAT IT MEANS 



WHEN the beauty of the Aster displaces that 

 of the Goldenrod in September; when blue 

 and purple transcend the yellow in field 

 and border; the deep green mantle of foliage draping 

 hill and dale, mountain and ravine, streamside and 

 roadside, commences to show signs of portentous 

 change. The Pines, the Hemlocks, and their kin look 

 even darker as the contrast with their deciduous- 

 leaved neighbors becomes stronger. In the swamps 

 about the last week of August and at the first whiff of 

 autumn in the air the Red Maple begins to assume 

 a purplish tint and its example is soon followed by 

 other kinds of trees. To all of us the season of the 

 year becomes apparent, warning signs of stern win- 

 ter's approach increase rapidly and soon the whole 

 country puts on its gayest mantle of color. The peo- 

 ples of the tropics, where monsoon rains are followed 



by burning heat and where the young unfolding 



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