The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-01-22
Our Woods I'm Auth x,au.

1t was late in September, just at the turn
of the leaf; the woods were In all their gold
en- and crimson glory, with here and there a
purple beech, or back ground Of dark green
pines. Familiar as we all are with the bril-
liancy OF the autumnal foliage in the neigh
borhood of our towns, one must see 1t in the
unbroken forest, covering the country with
rainbow hues as far as the eye can reach, in
order to appreciate fully its wonderful beauty.
A few words on this change of color, which is
as constant as any other botanical character,
Teach kind of tree having its special tints Pc
culiar to itself, and not reproduced by other
kinds,) may not be amiss. Indeed, not only
does every species have its appointed range of
color, but each individual tree has its history
told more or less distinctly in the ripening of
the foliage A weaker OF younger limb m9y
have put on its autumn garb, and be almost
ready to drop its leaves, while the rest of the
tree is untouched. A single scarlet maple or
red oak often gives us the most beautiful ar
rangement of tints, from the green of mid
summer, through every shade of orange and
red; in the same way one Leaf may rpen UNI
equally, its green surface being barred or spot
ted with crimson or gold for days before the
whole leaf turns. The e differences give am
pie opportunity for studying the ripening pro-
cess. In attempting to determine the cause of
these changes, it ought not to be forgotten
appearance upon particular trees much earlier
than upon others; $50 early, indeed, as 10 show
clearly the fallacy of the prevalent idea that
they are caused by frost. The temperature
remains ten or fifteen degrees above the ffeez-
ing-point for month and more after good
many of our trees have assumed their bright
auturanal hues. The process is no doubt
akin to that of ripening in fruits especially in
such heshy fruits as turn from green to vel
low r1lrp rad lyo ool,o
cherries and Others The chlnge in color CO.
incides with changes in the constitutive chem
ical elements of the plant; and this COMPARE
son between the ripening offoliage and fruit
seems the more natural, when we remember
that fruits are but modification ofleaves, as
Stunning higher functions and special adapta-
tions in the flower, so as to produce what we
call fruit. The ripening process by which
the leaves take on their final colors is as con-
slant and special as in the fruits. The cherries
do not assume their various shades of red,
deepening sometimes into black, or the plums
their puppies, or the peaches their velvety-
rose tints, or the apples their greens, russets,
browns, and reds, with more unvafying accu-
racy than the different kinds OF naples and
oaks, or the beeches, birches, and ashes, take
on their characteristic tints. The inequality
in the ripening of the foliage alluded to above
has also its counterpart in the fruits. Here
and there single apple or peach or pear rip
ems prematurely, while all the rest of the fruit
remains green, or separate branch bring its
harvest to maturity in advance of the sur
rounding branches. No doubt the brilliancy
of the change in the United States, as COM
pared with other countries, Is partly due to
the dryness OF the climate and indeed it has
been observed that certain European flowers
take on deeper hues when transplanted to
America. But believe the cause lies rather
in the special character Of certain American
plants and trees. The Virginia creeper, for
instance, which is much cultivated now in
France and Germany, turns to as brilliant
scarlet in a European garden as in its native
woods.-Agdssizi in February atlantic.