O'er bole and branch, with leaves that shine All glossy bright, tenacious twine, And the else naked woodland scene, Clothe with a raiment fresh and green.' But it is much more than fresh and green.' Delightful as is this its characteristic it revels in the loveliness of other colours, and none are finer than those seen on the sunny sides of autumn hedgebanks; for there, when much of the summer vegetation has gone and fallen leaves give room for the display of the beauty of the glossy trailer, it may be seen in perfection, dark green, light green, bluish green, red, orange, purple and yellow, with shades and markings and blendings of all these which make variety that is very beautiful. As with many leaves, so with the Ivy the veins give play, so to speak, and variety to the tinting, for the reason that the tissues of which they are composed and the tissues immediately surrounding and investing them longer retain the normal green colour of the leaf. Very frequently after the leaf-stalk has turned reddish purple or purple the principal veins and adjacent tissue remain green whilst the smaller veins and the spaces of tissue between them have turned yellow or red or orange or purple. The venation of the Ivy is very elaborate and beautiful. The form of the leaf is marvellously varied, though rarely departing from the threelobed or five-lobed form, but the rounding or elongation of the lobes is very various in different individuals. A principal vein runs from the apex of the leaf-stalk through the centre of each lobe, and from these veins the forking and branching of the veinlets is very elaborate, resembling indeed very much the contorted and twisted ramification of the Oak. It is upon the upper surfaces of the Ivy leaves that the most beautiful tints are to be seen, and as it is the upper surfaces which are exposed to the sunshine the circumstance furnishes another proof that it is to the action of sunlight upon the chemical substances contained in the superficial plant cells that is due the marvellous hues which contribute to the splendour of Autumn. |