AUTUMN TIDES. 125 



dows in October, when the sun shines upon it, will 

 make up for a good deal of the light it has excluded ; 

 it fills the room with a soft golden glow. 



Thoreau, I believe, was the first to remark upon 

 the individuality of trees of the same species with re- 

 spect to their foliage, some maples ripening their 

 leaves early and some late, and some being of one tint 

 and some of another ; and moreover, that each tree 

 held to the same characteristics, year after year. 

 There is indeed as great a variety among the maples 

 as among the trees of an apple orchard ; some are 

 harvest apples, some are fall apples, and some are 

 winter apples, each with a tint of its own. Those 

 late ripeners are the winter varieties the Rhode 

 Island greenings or swaars of their kind. The red 

 maple is the early astrachan. Then comes the red- 

 streak, the yellow-sweet, and others. There are wind- 

 falls among them too, as among the apples, and one 

 side or hemisphere of the leaf is usually brighter 

 than the other. 



The ash has been less noticed for its autumnal foli- 

 age than it deserves. The richest shades of plum 

 color to be seen becoming by and by, or, in certain 

 lights, a deep maroon are afforded by this tree. 

 Then at a distance there seems to be a sort of 

 bloom upon it as upon the grape or plum. Amid a 

 grove of yellow maple, it makes a most pleasing con- 

 trast. 



By mid-October, most of the Rip Van Winkles 

 among our brute creatures have lain down for their 

 winter nap. The toads and turtles have buried them 



