270 The Museum Gazette 



of the living organism prevents the over-oxidisation of the 

 adjacent cells, and thus keeps them green. 



Notes on the Fall of the Leaf. 



One of the earliest trees in the South of England to lose its 

 leaves is the lime ; they begin to fall early in September. 

 The walnut soon follows, then the horse chestnut, elm, 

 elder, &c, and, last of all, the beech and oak. The exfoliation 

 varies greatly according to seasonal conditions. Given a 

 mild season like the present one, the leaves are retained 

 much later, but with the first frost they will come down very 

 quickly, especially in the case of the walnut (which, by the 

 way, is not a native tree), a large tree in full foliage one day 

 may within two or three days be naked. 



The influence of drought upon the fall of the leaf has been 

 well shown during the past month. In some districts beech 

 trees had shed their leaves by the end of the first week in 

 September. The hot summer may have had its influence. 



Dr. George Abbott, writing from Tunbridge Wells on 

 September 16, remarks: "The beech trees in this district 

 have shed their leaves already. When I returned home some 

 ten days ago the few I saw with leaves surprised me. Since 

 then it has impressed me more and more. One of the purple 

 variety has none remaining, others have a few green on east 

 and north sides chiefly, and also in the central parts. I put 

 it down to the drought." On September 4, in Shillinglee 

 Park, near Haslemere, the leaves of the chestnut trees and 

 hazel bushes had assumed autumnal tints, and many of the 

 latter had fallen. Scarcely any wild flowers could be found. 

 Six days later we observed that the bracken on our moors 

 was yellow, and that the heath dodder was unusually 

 abundant. 



It is of interest to compare these observations with those 

 in our Diary of 1902, a normal summer with a mild autumn, 

 We find no notes upon the fall of the leaf before November 2, 

 when it is recorded : " Beech leaves are falling very rapidly, 



