FALLING LEAVES 93 



there is no cbamce for molds to attack the bark 

 or wood and cause it to decay. 



In compound leaves the leaflets frequently 

 separate from the petiole just as the leaves do 

 from the twig. The horse-chestnut is an exam- 

 ple. There is a small layer of corkplate, or cut- 

 ting-off tissue, at the base of each separate leaf- 

 let, and a larger one at the base of the stalk 

 which holds the fan-shaped group of five or 

 seven. "The leaf -fans collapse like houses 

 built of cards, and a litter of leaflets and stalks 

 strews the ground beneath the trees." Such 

 large, funny-looking leaf scars as .they leave 

 behind! They are like tiny horseshoes, with 

 the holes for the nails. Look at them closely, 

 and you will find that the holes are really not 

 holes at all. They are the ends of the woody 

 threads, which joined twig and leaf-stalk, over- 

 laid by a dark, glistening gum. A fitting speci- 

 men of Nature's wise surgery! By counting 

 the holes in the tiny horseshoes, one can always 

 tell how many leaflets the leaf had last year. 

 Can you find the bud-scale scars? The small 

 ones at the side are the leaf buds. The large 

 ones on the end are either mixed buds or they 

 contain the new growth. 



It is most interesting to make and press col- 

 lections of falling leaves, grouping them ac- 



