The daily gazette., 1878-10-30
Autumn Leaves.
THE SEASON ABOUT ovER-THE KINDS O
LEAVES THAT ARE GATHERED,

THE SEASON ABOUT ovER-THE KINDS OF
| LEAVES THAT ARE GATHERED.
During the pleasant weather of the
pas. few weeks the ladies of this CITY
nave been busy gathering autumn leaves
and grasses from the hills of the Brandy
wine and the various groves in the ada.
cent neighborhood. To-da,'s rain, how
ever, puts stop to this pleasant occupa-
ton, and the season is about over, unless
a few bright days should prevail during
the first week OF November, with weather
moderate enough to keep the foliage in
its brilliant coloriDg.
| VI all the forest trees that in the au-
tnmn are adorned with brilliant hues,
| the naples in their various sorts stand
| foremost. No other leaves vary so in
| finitely, glow SO brilliantly, pale so deli.
cately as theirs. Each is different from
all the others, and the variations are num-
berlrss in color alone, irrespective of its
fanciful application. Crimson, maroon,
green, green, pink, golden yellow, and
| creamy white, IN many shades and com.
binations, fleck, vein, bar, point and
flood their surfaces. Sometimes, upon a
| large leaf, will appear the sem blance of
smaller one, this last in VIVID grehn,
| the margin without its edges of dark ma.
room. Again one will appear upon
which every most delicate vein is clearly
marked in dark green upon ground of
greenish white or gold.
The red-twigged dogwood affords a
| charming leaf in autumn, of dark ma.
room veined upon deep green and is very
| uniform in this presentation of color
This is the tree from which the indians
used to make their arrows before Indian
agents supplied them with rifles.
The wild rose leaf retain its green colol
even after 1t has ripened and fallen to the
ground, and although it has none of the
peculiar autumnal beauty, its fresh tint,
graceful form, and serrated edges give ii
value for working in as a contrast with
| other brighter leaves in ombiuations for
decorative purposes
| Tue ash sheds leaf of dead gold vein
| ed with green. Oak leaves turn to rich
tan brown, like leather, and are mu h
used for funeral wreatbs, particularly for
| aged persons. Beech leaves also turn to
the same TINT, but of little lighter shade
! Both the oak and beech autumn leaves
may be employed with fine effect as a
back ground 10 relieve the more vivid
colors of naples, or to blend with the
purplish maroon of the sumao leaf III
sonbre decorations
| Autumn leaves when first gathered, to
be preserved must first bs pressed be
tween sheets of blotting, paper for week
or ten days, in which time the sheets
should be changed each second day -
After they are thus thoroughly dried
they may be prepared for mounting IL
either one of several different ways. 1t
used to be customary to coat them with
a thin colorless varnish, but that is not 8
good way, for it gives them shiny, un
natural surface. A better plan is to dir
them in hot white wax. That preserves
them from decay, keeps their colors fresf
/ a nd 1naa m nt aru uaf ha ioha1 1nnk of th.
vanished ones. Methods exist which ar,
clrimed by their discoverers to he better
than either of these but they are held a
secrets. For all practical purposes tn,
wax treatment is good enough.