264 
NATURE FOR ITS OWN SAKE 
Warming 
color. 
The bud- 
ding season, 
In a few weeks there is a very noticeable 
change in the whilom March woodlands. The 
young trees begin to show dull red in their 
smaller twigs. A reddish hue spreads all along 
the bordering fringe at the top. It is the first 
positive color-note of spring, though in the 
small trees and bushes it is seen all winter long. 
As the warm sun starts the sap the color begins 
to brighten. The swamp trees with their roots 
in the water show it first of all, and then 
others join in until at last there is a distinct 
hue of dull red running through all the woods. 
The buds swell and begin to open just a 
little, a fuzziness muffles the sharp outlines of 
the branches, and the next color-note is a mist of 
pale yellow, mingled with the pinks, grays, and 
whites of the buds and the reds and yellows of 
the stems. A few weeks more and the leaves 
are out enough to thicken the view, obscure the 
tree lines, and cast a yellow-green hue over 
the forest. The grass has at this time grown 
long on the meadows and is deep green in color, 
but the foliage of the trees comes later. The 
chlorophyll in the leaf-cells is not strong 
enough yet to show the dark green of mid- 
summer. The young leaves are all tender in 
hue, shiny, coated with a varnish at times; and 
