so THE TREE BOOK 



show all shades of tawny, pink, and red; the 

 willows are golden-green; seldom do we find 

 a baby leaf that is really green. This color is 

 developed later by the action of the sunshine. 

 Green is considered in the vegetable world, as 

 "the color of sober and honest work." 



At first the baby leaves, like Topsy, "just 

 grow." They feed greedily from the glucose 

 which the mountiag sap brings them so freely. 

 They stretch and bask in the sunshine enjoy- 

 ing their babyhood, which is brief at best. For 

 they have their work to perform, as we have 

 seen, and it is not long until Mother Nature 

 whispers that they must be busy. 



While the leaves are still very young, it is 

 interesting to study out their folds and creases, 

 and pry into Nature's methods of packing. 

 Here is an oak leaf. Note how it was folded 

 lengthwise down the middle, so that its edges 

 came together like the covers of a book. The 

 apricot and the plum were rolled like a scroll. 

 The maple and the currant leaf were plaited to- 

 gether like a fan.. Often the manner of their 

 folding seems to determine the shape of a leaf. 

 Here is a tulip-tree leaf baby. It looks as if its 

 tip had been cut off with two clips of the shears. 

 Its creases show that, when it slept ia the bud, 

 it was folded lengthwise down the middle, and 



