Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1872-05-15

BY lakes, moss rills and silver gliding rills,
Comes April, glad and arch"
What a glad surprise to awake some
Of these bright April mornings, and
find the brown old NAPLES green with
young leaves. We know now, for GER
tainty that winter is banished that
spring has come, sending such warm
thrill to the hearts of the great trees,
and even down to their very roots, that
they have all burst forth into, ga flood
of waving green, !" for very gladness.
What surprise to the children, the
singing birds, and the frolicsome
breezes, and even to the old trees them
selves, as the young leaves drink in the
sunlight, air and dew; and expanding
their soul-like wings, draw the great
trees toward the sky.
There are many useful, as well as
wonderful and beautiful things about
leaves and perhaps it would be pleas
ant to talk about them now, while they
are fresh and new. am sure that all
of the wide-awake boys and girls, I"
know more about leaves than little
city girl / know of, who, when her teach
er asked what grew on trees, answered.
g feathers"
A leaf is made up of two materials,
the green pulp and the woody frame
work. Besides these, the leaf is pro
tected 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 firmness.
The green pulp is the labratory of the
Leaf, and it is in this labratory that the
sun, (who is a great chemist, J 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
it 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
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-eloyer, 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,
toiling leaves.
A large part of the moisture which is
brought to 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 yapor
flies off through the breathing pores.
These are little openings or mouths, in
the skin of the leaf, which are guarded
by 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 injuring the interior of the
leaf. La the water lily these mouths
are unusually large and can be seen
easily with simple microscope They
are confined principally to the under
side OF the leaf, where as many as 60O,-
O0O have been counted in d square inch
No wonder we hear so much whisper
ing, signing and murmuring among the
leaves, when we consider how many
mouths they have.
Leaves are very useful in many ways.
They absorb from the air carbonic acid.
which IS very poisonous to man, and
give out oxygen, which is life sustain
ing. And the air would be very harsh
and dry, If 1t were not for the moisture
the leaves are constantly throwing out,
which makes 1T soft and balmy.
1he leaves are very useful IN increas-
ng the surface of that palt of the tree
exposed to light and air. The actual
amount OF surface presented by tree
III tull leaf, Is much larger than one
would be apt to suppose. The Wash
lngton Elm, at Cambridge, was esti-
mated to produce seven millions of
leaves IN one year, and If they had been
spread over the ground, they would
have covered five acres.
There are some very wonderful leaves.
as those of the Victoria Regia, which
grow on the Amazon river. They are
sometimes found five feet broad. What
splendid carpets they would make
little girls play house Then there
are the leaves of the Venus Flvtrap.
winch, like bad boys, amuse themselves
catching flies. The Pitcher plant. so
common IN the ISLAM of Ceylon, bears
leaves which expand into a perfect
pitcher. They hold pint or more of
water, and have cunning little lids.
which open on hinges. Tbey are some
tunes called monkey-caps, because the
monkeys drink from them, when the
streams are dry.
Leaves are beautiful, as well as Won
derfu1. Had they all been cut in
squares, they would have served their
purpose Just as well as the artistic
Shapes we see on every tree. shrub and
PIanG around us, such as stars. hearts.
hands, spears, fans, arrows, shields. and
o1ners too numerous to mention. Their
refreshing color, glossy finish, and
beautiful shapes, all show forth the
Elches and love of the great Creator, |
VINO mas spread for US feast of beantv
hen October comes, setting the forest |
aoIaze with purple, crimson and gold |
en- leaves, we can almost imagine how
glorious the * tree of life y must be
that grows on the banks of the "bean-
tltul r1ver - whose leaUes are for the
healing of the nations.
Like the singing birds, we love TO
build our homes in the grateful sbad- |
ows of the green leaves, We gather
trees around our parks, churches and
the last resting place of our loved ones. |
Indeed, such valued companions are
they, that wherever we love to go our
selves, there will you find our beautiful
friends, the green IeaUes.
4 great poet has compared children
to leaves
p" What the leaves are to the forest,
With light and air for food,
Ire their sweet and tender Juices
Have been hardened into wood :"
hat to the world are children
Through them it feels the glow
vi a bright and SUMMER climate
linen reaches the trunks below"
LIE Illusion of a past golden age is
one Oh the greatest hindrances to the