Bl2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 17,1981
Autumn is the perfect time of the
year to make a leaf collection, but
leaves should be pressed to make a
good collection.
To make wax mounted leaves,
press fresh-picked colored leaves
between two sheets of heavy wax
paper. Use a warm iron on them
and then mount in a scrapbook
with tape or glue.
To make a crayon print: place a
section of newspaper or a
magazine on a work area to give a
soft surface. Lay the leaf on this
with the underside up. Over this
place thin drawing paper, hold
carefully, and color the leaf area
solidly with the side or flat end of a
soft crayon, choosing green or
autumn leaf colors. Make all
strokes go in the same direction.
Cut out along the leaf outline and
mount in a scrapbook.
For a spatter print: Place a
newspaper over your work area.
Lay the paper to be spattered on
cardboard, and pin the leaf flat to
this, pins upright. Leaf prints are
more successful if the leaf has
The question comes up every
year about this time: Why do
leaves change color in the fall?
According to Ranger Rick’s
Nature Magazine, autumn’s cooler
temperatures and shorter days
cause chlorophyll which gives
leaves their green color in spring
and summer to break down and
other pigments to form in the
leaves.
The National Wildlife Federation
monthly publication for children
notes that *‘a spectular show of
fall colors depends on the right
amount of sunshine, rain, and cool
temperatures.” New England falls
are often so beautiful, because the
region’s weather is usually dry,
bright, and cool.
Like everything else in nature,
no two leaves are alike, and none of
them will have the same splendid
color combination each season.
However, Ranger Rick explains
that all the color variations are
based on the following pigments:
Yellow and Orange-These
pigments are in the leaves all year
long, but can’t be seen in the spring
and summer because they are
covered by the green chlorophyll.
These are the same pigments that
make egg yolks yellow and carrots
orange.
Kid's let's make leaf prints
been pressed for an hour or two. piece of clean window screening
Dip an old toothbrush into paint, held over the leaf. In this way
press against the side of the can to spatter paint onto the paper all
remove excess paint, and rub around the leaf. When dry, remove
toothbrush toward you on a small leaf, leaving a clear design.
Autumn
most colorful show
Red and Purple The bright
red and purple colors of fall only
show up on leaves of trees that
produce a lot of sugar. Because
trees need very cool and dry
temperatures to produce sugar,
these colors are mostly found in
New England's trees. Red maples,
which normally produce a lot of
sugar, usually have red and purple
leaves in autumn. But if fall
temperatures are too warm, or
there isn’t enough sugar in the
tree, a red maple’s leaves will turn
orange or yellow.
Brown - Some leaves, like
those on oak trees, do not change to
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bright colors in the fall, but
become brown and drab. This is
due to the presence of the chemical
tannin, which mixes with the
yellow and orange pigments, and
turns the leaves brown.
And why do leaves fall?
Fall’s cooler weather also causes
the food products stored in the
leaves to flow to safer quarters
the tree branches and trunk. A thin
layer of cells, called the “abciss
layer,” then forms across the stem
which connects leaf to twig. With
this link weakened, the leaf is
broken off by an autumn breeze or
eventually falls to the ground of its
own weight.
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16 hours
14 hours
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