LEAF GAIETY 



coccinea and its variety splendens, of which the leaves 

 become almost scarlet. Those of Quercus heterophylla 

 provide more varied if not such brilliant colouring, for 

 they show both red and yellow. And the Chestnut 

 what an exquisite picture it is when the foliage loses its 

 green in one vast flush of yellow ! It is among the 

 earliest of all to change. The Iron Tree (Parrotia persica) 

 is not commonly met with, yet it is an admirable little 

 tree for the home garden, and in autumn shows a lovely 

 leaf tapestry of bronze and brown and rose. 



But I know of none quite so wonderful when October 

 falls as the Plum-leaved Cockspur Thorn, dignified by 

 the consequential botanical name of Crataegus Crus-Galli 

 prunifolia, though anglicised it sounds less formidable. 

 Never have I seen so many rare and precious tints 

 compassed by the branches of one small tree ; there are 

 red and brown and bronze, yellow and green, and other 

 shades so nice as to defy description, and all commingle 

 in the leaves of an almost unknown Thorn. It was a 

 dim October day when I made its acquaintance, and 

 though the gloom was lit by the flames of a multitude of 

 dying leaves, not one of them held high so bright a torch 

 as this. 



Who with pen for paint brush shall faithfully por- 

 tray the beauty of the Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo biloba) 

 when, at autumn's bidding, she dons a frail cloak of pale 

 gold, shrouding as with a gilt mantle her incomparable 

 green ? The June Berry (Amelanchier canadensis), that 

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