FALLING LEAVES 89 



and all her energies will lie quietly in twig and. 

 trunk. So the leaves must go. Slowly the 

 mother tree absorbs their nourishment, and pre- 

 pares to part with them. She is just going to 

 sleep, and, mayhap, she is tired and quite will- 

 ing to go. The leaves, too, are not averse to 

 donning their party dresses and sallying forth 

 for a little frolic with the wind. Their work, 

 too, is done. They are old and worn, weighted 

 down with the minerals they have sorted from 

 the soil-water. 



To get some idea of this weight of mineral 

 matter, bum a pile of dead leaves. You will 

 be surprised at the large heap of ashes. Chem- 

 ists say that the chief constituent of leaf ashes 

 is silica, a substance identical with sand. This 

 the leaf absorbed along with the potash, phois- 

 phorus, and other useful substances contained 

 in the soil-water. Silica is of very little use 

 to the tree, hence the leaves are forced to store 

 it in their cells. Mixed with the silica is con- 

 siderable lime, as a far larger quantity of it is 

 taken in than the tree can possibly use. 



As we look casually about us in the early 

 days of September, there is but little to tell of 

 the "kindling into glory" which is soon to take 

 place. To be sure, the leaves seem dusty and 

 have a sort of listless air, as though tried by the 



