74 



AUTUMNAL LEAYES AND GRASSES. 



When the bright sunny days of autumn have arrived 

 and the woodlands are radiant with a thousand bril- 

 liant hues and the grasses are ripened and formed into 

 their perfect beauty, then is a most pleasant season 

 for rambling, particularly when the falling nuts lure 

 the youthful to the woods. The beautiful leaves of 

 the maple, colored with crimson and gold elegantly 

 blended together is perhaps one of the most attractive 

 of fall leaves. Oak leaves are all very pretty, they are 

 usually dark red or brown, while those of the poplar are 

 always yellow, these combined with the white beech 

 and many brig'ht crimson leaves which adorn the 

 small bushes and plants: all these join in making a 

 most beautiful scenery which Jack Frost soon destroys. 

 When these leaves are pressed they will retain their 

 shape and color perfectly, and make an elegant boquet 

 if tastily arranged. Many references have been made 

 to the bright colored heaves of autumn by the poets of 

 both Europe and America. 



The Golden Rod is another feature of beauty which 

 ornaments the landscape during the fall, it grows from 

 two to three feet high, stems usually four-sided and the 

 leaves are thickly distributed along it, the blossoms or 

 flowers consist of a dense mass of yellow at the top. 

 This plant is common along roadsides and in dry pas- 

 tures, it grows very thickly and in patches. Golden 

 rod is often gathered in quantities and makes a nice 

 ornament, when several weeks old it turns white. 



The grasses of fall are very numerous and varied, 

 some of them are very beautiful while others are hardly 



