56 THE TREE BOOK 



simple and compound. Simple leaves are those 

 ■wherein the blade is unbroken, like the maple 

 and the oak. Compound leaves are those made 

 up 'of separate leaflets, like the locust and the 

 horse chestnut. All of our northern trees, ex- 

 cept the evergreens, have what are called "net- 

 ted veins," that is, veins which branch and 

 branch again into delicate web patterns. There 

 are two types of net- veined leaves : those whose 

 veins branch from a strong mid-rib, like the 

 chestnut, beech, and elm; and those having sev- 

 eral large veins starting from the top of the 

 foot-stalk and diverging like the rays of a star. 

 The maple and the grape leaf are tj^pes of the 

 latter class. 



A collection of leaves is most interesting. 

 There are dozens of things to discover concern- 

 ing their skeleton make-up, and as to their 

 shapes, we find a most bewildering array. Sup- 

 pose you try grouping leaf specimens under the 

 following heads: oblong (two or three times 

 longer than broad), oval, egg-ishaped, heart- 

 shaped, arrow-shaped, kidney-shaped, lobed, 

 shield-shaped, spatulate (like a paint knife), 

 wedge-shaped, circular, lance-shaped, auricular 

 (with ear-shaped lobes at the base), grass-like, 

 compound, and double-compound. Directions 

 for pressing, labeling, and mounting thes^ speci- 



