108 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN 



swamp and wood, roadside and on dry hilltop, is the 

 crowning glory of a New England autumn. By the 

 last week of August it commences to assume a pur- 

 plish tint; sometimes a solitary branch is tinted, fre- 

 quently the coloring process begins at the top of the 

 tree and the purple crown of autumn is placed on the 

 green brow of summer. Trees growing side by side 

 are seldom alike, and in a group may be seen almost 

 as many shades of color as there are trees. Some 

 are entirely yellow, others scarlet, some crimson, 

 purple, or orange, others variegated with several of 

 these colors. Indeed, on different individuals in the 

 Red Maple may be seen all the hues that are ever dis- 

 played in the autumn woods. The Sugar Maple 

 (Acer saccharum), though more brilliant, has a nar- 

 rower range of color and is more uniform in its tints 

 which range from yellow and orange to scarlet. 



The common Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) more in- 

 variably shows a mass of unmixed crimson than any 

 other New England tree. The foliage first assumes 

 shades of purple which change into crimson or scarlet 

 before it falls. 



The Oaks, the noblest group of trees in eastern 

 North America, assume their autumn tints very late 

 and are not at their zenith until after the Maples have 

 passed. In the Scarlet, Red, and White Oaks the tints 



