Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1872-05-16
\ voice from the Woodlands.
BY CLYDE.

II Through the blue aisles of March,
Across the brown sides Of the bare old hills.
IA Nv lakes. moss rils and silver gliding r!lls
N comes April, glad and a1ch.'
II What glad surprise to awake some
q ~ these bright April mornings, and
u find the brown old naples green with
vounr leaves. We know now, for q GER
taintv that winter is banlshed that
q sprlng has come, sending such a warm
4 thrill to the hearts of the great trees,
and even down to their very roots, that
= they have all burst forth into, "A flood
u Of waving green, - Tor very gladness.
q What a surprise to the children, the
i singing birds, and the frolicsOme
breezes. and even to the old trees them
4 selves. as the young leaves drink in the
4 sunlight, air and dew; and expanding
"their soul-like Wings draw the great
Il trees toward the sky.
There are many useful, as well as
wonderful and beautiful things about
leaves and perhaps it would be pleas
q ant to talk about them now, while they
are fresh and new. am sure that all
4 of the " wideawake boys and girls,
& know more about leaves than a little
CITY girl | know Of, who, when her teach
er asked what grew on trees, answered,
\ feathers
A leaf is made up of two materials,
the green pulp and the woody frame
work Besides these the leaf is pro
tectrd by a transparent skin. The
framework consists of wooden tubes,
such as are bundled together to form
the stem These tubes carry the sap
to every part of the leaf, and at the
same time support the leaf, and give it
strength and tirmness.
The green pulp is the laboratory Of the
leaf, and It is in this laboratory that the
sun, (who is a great chemist prepares
the food Of the plant In fact, every
leaf is a sugar and starch mandatory.
These are the principal products, al
though there are manufactures, also,
oil, acids, Jelly, the pulp of fruits, and
many other things besides Indeed, if
il were not for these millions of manu-
factories, our gardens would not fur
nish Us any OF the nutritious vegetables.
or delicious fruits, which now minister
to our nourishment and pleasure
Neither would the flowers bloom, if it
were not for the honey with which the
leaves are constantly feeding the young
buds. The bees are always stealing
this honey away from the flowers, and
we steal it from the bees. As we sip
our fragrant white-cloyer, or delicious
apple-blossom honey, we praise the
busy bees, (highway robbers, we might
call them, and never think of the April
showers, golden sunlight, and patient,
tOlling leaves.
A large part Of the moisture which is
brought 10 the leaf through the stem.
IS constantly being evaporated. A sun
flower has been known to exhale be-
tween one or two pints of water in
day The greater part OF this vapOr
HES off through the breathing pores.
These are little openings or mouths. in
the skin OF the leaf. which are guarded
bya pair Of cells like the leaves of
door. These cells open when moist to
allow the water to escape, and close
promptly when dry, to prevent the dry
ness from lnjuring the interior of the
leaf In the water lily these mouths
are unusually large and can be seen
easily with q simple microscope. They
are confined principally to the under
side OF the leaf, where as many as 600.
UOO have been countedin a square inch
no wonder we hear so much whisper
ing, signing and murmuring among the
leaves, when ne consider how many
mouths they have.
Leaves are very useful in many ways.
I4ey absorb from the air carbonic acid,
winch Is very poisonous to man, and
give out oxygen, which is life sustain
Hg. And the air would be very harsh
anu dry, il II were not for the moisture
14r leaves are constantly throwing out,
"alch makes it soft and balmy.
The leaves are very useful i'll increas-
Lg the surface IF that pat of tho tree
exposed to light and air. The actual
amount ot surface presented by a tree
Ill full leaf. is much larger than one
would be apt 20 suppose. The Wash
-'on Elm, nj Cambridge, was esti-
mated TO produce seven millions of
leaves IN one year, and ii they had been
spread over the ground, they would
have covered fveacres
There are some very wonderful leaves,
Us those OF the Victoria Regia, which
Grow on the Amazon river. They are
@'meumes found five feet broad. What
sl.eudlu carpets they would make a
title gIls playhouse Then there
a.a the leaves Of the Venus Flytrap,
which, like bad boys. amuse themselves
eltahinc flies The Pitcher plant, 50
common in the island of Ceyl0n. bears
saves which expand into perfect
pitcher. They hold pint or more Of
F.;er, and have cunning little lids,
NAlen open onhinges. They are some .
SlUes called monkev-caps. because the
monkeys drink from them, when the
streams are dry