The hills are bright with maples yet, But down the level land The beech leaves rustle in the wind, As dry and brown as sand. The clouds in bars of rusty red Along the hill-tops glow, And in the still sharp air the frost Is like a dream of snow.--ALICE CARY. [77] Junior Naturalist Monthly, November, 1903. [Illustration] The hills are bright with maples about the time Jack Frost appears, and many people say that he makes the leaves turn red and yellow. Wise folk tell us, however, that Jack Frost is not the artist; that leaves change to autumn tints when their work is completed. Boys and girls may not know that leaves "work;" yet all through the long summer days when you have been playing in the shade of some old maple, the leaves over your head have been very busy. Uncle John says that each leaf is a "starch factory," and this is true. Starch is necessary for plant food and it is manufactured in the leaves. The green leaves and stems are the machinery, which is run by sunlight. Look at a large branch of maple and see how the leaves are arranged to catch every sunbeam. The more light the green parts of the tree get, the more plant food can be made and the sturdier and handsomer the tree. But the story of the way in which the plant food is made is a long one and not easy for young people to understand. This can come later when you have become familiar with the many interesting things that you learn by watching the tree and by studying with the microscope. If I should to go into your school-room and should ask how many boys and girls know a sugar maple, I suppose every hand would be raised. But if I should ask: "When does the sugar maple blossom?" "What do the blossoms look like?" "When do the winged seeds fall?" I wonder how many could give me satisfactory answers to my questions! Choose some fine old maple for study. The one that stands near the door will be best, since you can see it every day. Write in a note book all that you can find out about it as the weeks go by. SUGGESTIONS FOR FALL STUDY. 1. Notice how the leaves turn to the sunlight. 2. Try to find two leaves exactly alike in color, form, size, length of stem, etc. If you succeed send them to Uncle John. 3. How many different tints can you find in a single leaf? 4. As you look at two sugar maple trees, do they seem to be colored alike? 5. Are all sugar maples that you know the same shape? 6. How are the leaves arranged on the branch? 7. Can you find any winged seeds near the tree? If so, plant one in a box of earth and see whether it will grow. 8. If you find any plants growing beneath the maple tree, describe them or tell what they are. 9. Do you know any other kinds of maples? How do you distinguish them? [Illustration: _Child's drawing of a maple leaf. Fifth grade. (Reduced.)_] LEAFLET LX. A CORN STALK.[78] BY ALICE G. McCLOSKEY. (Compare Leaflets XLII and XLIII.) [78] Junior Naturalist Monthly, May, 1903. [Illustration]