SOME OTHER TREES 



to show us his underwear, which thus at once 

 becomes overcoat, as he goes on. At first 

 greenish, the under bark thus exposed be- 

 comes creamy white, mostly; and I have had a 

 conceit that the colder the winter, the whiter 

 would be those portions of Mr. Buttonball's 

 pajamas he cared to expose to us the next 

 spring ! 



The leaves of the sycamore are good to look 

 at, and efficient against the sun. The color 

 above is not as clear and sharp as that of the 

 maple; underneath the leaves are whitish, and 

 soft, or "pubescent," as the botanical term goes. 

 Quite rakishly pointed are the tips, and the 

 whole effect, in connection with the balls, — 

 which are first crowded clusters of flowers, and 

 then just as crowded clusters of seeds — is that 



Button-balls — 

 fruit of the sycamore 



217 



