You do not seem quite sure as to whether there are any other differences. But do you not notice that the edge of the maple leaf is cut into little teeth, like the edge of a saw, while the edge of the quince leaf is smooth?
And let me tell you here, that when I speak of a leaf, I speak not only of the enlarged flat surface we call the “leaf blade,” but also of the “leafstalk.” A leaf usually consists of a leafstalk and a leaf blade, though some leaves are set so close to the stem that they have no room for any stalks of their own.
Fig. 134
“Oh! then,” you answer, “the leafstalk of the maple is much longer than that of the quince, and there are little bits of leaves at the foot of the quince leafstalk which the maple is without.”
You have done very well, and have noticed just those things which you should.
The shape of the leaf blade, whether the edge of this is toothed, the length of the leafstalk, and whether this has any little leaves at its foot where it joins the stem, are things always worth noticing.
Now take your leaves and hold them up against the light, or else look at the picture of the quince leaf, and study carefully the make-up of the blade.
You see that this is divided lengthwise by a heavy rib which juts out on the lower side. From this “midrib,” as it is called, run a great many smaller lines. These are called “veins.” And from these branch off still smaller veins that bear the name of “veinlets.” And somewhat as the paper is stretched over the sticks of a kite, so from the leaf’s midrib to its edge, and from vein to vein, is drawn the delicate green material which makes up the greater part of the leaf.
What I wish you to learn this morning is, how to look at a leaf.