THE WALNUT. 421 



leaf-stalks are so flat and so supple that they bend under the weight 

 of the leaflets, which by now have become nearly flat. The young 

 shoot is a bright shining green, and already slightly furrowed. On the 

 young leaflets, when they were still folded in half and only their 

 backs were visible, the projecting ribs could plainly be seen. Now 

 they have expanded, the pattern of pale green veins on the upper 

 side looks very gay when the light shines through the red-tinted 

 leaf-blades. 



The main rib of the fully developed leaf lies nearly horizontally, 

 with the leaflets slightly drooping on either side of it. 



The leaflets have a somewhat waved edge, but the blade is not 

 puckered, and the two. halves either lie in one plane or form two 

 twigs slanting outwards from the rib. The colour in summer is a 

 dark, yellowish-green, distinctly marked off into sections by the main 

 ribs, the curved secondary ribs, and a network of smaller veins, which 

 are all of a lighter shade. The underside is also of a paler green. 

 The rib is naked for a small space only between the base of the 

 leaflet and the main leaf-stalk. 



The base of the leaflet is often irregular ; the two portions of 

 the blade do not meet the central rib at the same point, but one 

 margin extends further along it than the other. The ribs of the 

 leaflet lie nearly at right angles to the main leaf-stalk : the leaflets 

 themselves are arranged in pairs nearly opposite. In number they 

 vary to some extent : three pairs with a terminal leaflet are very 

 commonly found. The basal pair are the smallest ; the leaflets above 

 usually increase in size in a regular progression, the terminal one 

 reaching as much as five inches in length with a width of three 

 inches. The whole leaf is about twelve inches long by ten inches 

 in width, measuring from tip to tip of the widest leaflets. The- 



