Abstract
THE notice of Prof. Stahl's book under the heading of “Why Leaves are Green” in NATURE of June 3 (p. 393) leads me to direct attention to the effect of protection when applied to our copper beech trees. For the last two years I have, in the spring, partially covered with sacking about half of a small tree (less than 6 feet high), leaving one side open so that there should be some access of light. The aim was to protect a few branches from the effects of frost. This year the cover was put on the part which last year was left uncovered, and about the middle of April, before any leaves had appeared. The cover was removed on May 22 in the presence of several members of the Geologists' Association; the whole of the sheltered leaves were seen to be quite green, and a remarkable contrast to the others. In two days, however—protection being abandoned—the green leaves commenced to resume their usual spring coloration, and now are, with a few exceptions (as where one leaf may have been shielded by another), of the same tint as the other leaves, and probably no one would suspect they had ever been green.
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ABBOTT, G. The Colours of Leaves. Nature 80, 429 (1909). https://doi.org/10.1038/080429c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/080429c0
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