Fig. 308. Here is where city boys and girls buy their apples.
LEAFLET LIV.
TWIGS IN LATE WINTER.[72]
By ALICE G. McCLOSKEY.
Along a country road, through a drifted field, over a rail fence, and into the woods I went, gathering twigs here and there as I passed. A February thaw had come and these first messengers of spring, reaching out from shrub and tree, were beginning to show signs of life. Many young people do not believe that spring is near until they hear a robin or a bluebird. The bare little twigs tell us first. Look at them as you go on your way to school. Are they the same color in February that they were in the short December days?
Fig. 309. Red or swamp maple.
When I reached home with my bundle of twigs, it was "fun" to sit by the window and study the strange little things. They were so different one from another, and so interesting in every way, that I decided to ask our boys and girls to gather some winter twigs and tell us about them. Select your twigs from the butternut, willow, hickory, horsechestnut, apple, plum, plane-tree, maple, or any other tree that you come across. Here are some suggestions that will help you in your study: