202 LEAVES 



find an exact definition of that idea difficult to make. 

 Common green leaves are the kind this chapter prin- 

 cipally considers. 



A . Use and Beauty of Leaves. — No organs of living 

 things exceed leaves in beauty, utihty, and abundance. 

 Concerning them it should be possible to say some com- 

 pelling thing — something that compels you to give them 

 that attention, interest, and appreciation which you have 

 need to give them. Often leaves seem to say that com- 

 pelling thing for themselves ; they do not need to have it 

 said for them in a book; they say it for themselves far 

 better than any book can say it, but they can say it only 

 to those who are ready to listen, only to those who have 

 kept alive their natural interest in nature and are able 

 to appreciate and enjoy keenly the constant beauty and 

 usefulness of her ever changing forms. To most of us 

 leaves seem commonplace; we take them for granted. 

 We take pleasure in their reappearance in spring, their 

 color and the shade they furnish are grateful to us, and we 

 exclaim over the beauty of their autumnal colors. But 

 our curiosity about them is soon satisfied and we dismiss 

 them with little thought. Not one person in ten can tell 

 what leaves do. Yet, with understanding, our enjoyment 

 of leaves is sure to increase, and the nine out of ten people 

 who do not understand them would be glad to do so if 

 they knew what a difference such understanding makes. 



What makes the beauty of a summer landscape ? Noth- 

 ing has a larger part in it than the leaves. Stems deter- 

 mine the rounding, graceful forms of plants, but the leaves 

 clothe the stems and multiply their beauty. In spring 

 leaves come like a green mist over the gaunt forms of winter. 



