278 THE HORNBEAM. 



described elsewhere in this book, while those who are interested in the 

 subject will find in Lubbock's study " On Seedlings," the results ot 

 much close and loving observation. 



THE LEAF. 



The buds grow alternately on the twig and lie close against it, 

 they are long, broad and pointed. About the second week in April 

 a touch of pale green appears at their tips ; this is the back of the first 

 young leat. It is folded lengthways along its secondary veins, and 

 these are covered with silvery hairs, which protect the tender bright- 

 green leaf-blades. 



Each leat as it emerges finds further protection in a pair of long 

 pale-green stipules with pointed tips ot pink. The leaves expand 

 and flatten out like those ot a beech, from which they are chiefly 

 differentiated by a rough unpolished surface and notched edges, while 

 their bases are somewhat broader and have more tapering points. 



The spring-tint of the foliage is a fresh yellow green, which 

 Summer dulls, and Autumn changes to yellow and then to gold. All 

 through the winter the leaves, now withered to a dull rusty brown, 

 cling to the branches, a habit of growth which the Hornbeam shares 

 with the Beech, and which makes it of equal value as a sheltering 

 hedge in the garden. In the distribution of the leaves and twigs the 

 problems of plant-economy are solved in a marvellous way ; for all 

 the available space is occupied, yet there is little overlapping, so that 

 every leaf can gather its due supply of light and air, and the moisture 

 which it contributes to the nourishment of the whole. This arrange- 

 ment is shown in the following plan of the leaves and twigs. 



