Page Two
THE NEW BERN MIRROR, NEW BERN, N. C.
Friday, February 9, 1973
Garden Time
story of Green Leaf
Explained By Expert
By M. E. Gardner
N. C. State University
It was not necessary
for people in the lower
Piedmont and Coastal
Plain to travel to the
mountains this year to
enjoy the annual leaf
color parade. The low
temperature in October
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in the mountains
turned the leaves brown
before color development
reached the maximum
stage of beauty. In our
area, this same low tem
perature triggered the
finest display 1 have seen
for many years, if ever.
Our colors were as
vivid as those ordinarily
seen in the mountains.
Maples, dogwoods, gums,
hickories and certain
oaks really put on a show.
As I write this column
(11-21-72) the Scarlet
oaks are just beautiful.
Maples., earlier, were
just as pretty but are
now naked and ready for
their rest period and
dormancy.
The change in leaf
color from green to the
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HOME 637-4208
..^tulrewd
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NEW BERN, N. C. 28560
HWY. 70 WEST
Across from Berne Restaurant
LOOK MOM, NO SADDLE!
... Mermaid Diane Gray amuses
spectators as she breaks in new
dolphin "prop” between shows
in the underwater theatre at
Florida’s Week! Wachee. Life
like and life-size, "Adolph II”
now adorns the sun porch of
the mermaid villa at the Flori
da west coast attraction.
many hues of red, yellow
and orange is an interest
ing story. During the
growing season, the
leaves are green
(chlorophyll) and engaged
in food manufacture. All
life on earth is dependent
upon the green leaf
because the leaf is the
source of food and fiber
to support our daily lives
and that of our animals —
flowers, fruits, veg
etables, grains, grasses,
seeds, wood, gum, resins
and many other plant
products. Leaves are of
enormous importance to
us, quite apart from their
beauty or diversity of
coloring.
In the summer, when
they are green and
manufacturing plant food,
we are not conscious of
the many other colors
(pigments) that are also
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GENERAL
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Main St. Ph. 244-5471
present in the leaf. In
the fall when the days
become shorter and the
temperature cooler, the
manufacturing processes
slow down and the pro
duction of chlorophyll is
reduced. This continues
until the green color
disappears and the other
colors, which g^ve us so
much beauty and pleas
ure, organize for the
annual autumn color
parade.
And so, the leaf, so
young, tender and green
in the spring, performs
its annual function of
supporting all life on
earth, and then drifts
gently to the forest floor
to enrich mother earth.
Thus the life cycle
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of the leaf is completed
but the energy stored In
the roots, stems and
seeds of plants will renew
the cycle in the spring.
The integrity of men is to be
measured by their conduct, not
by their professions.—Junius.
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NURSERY
- GLENBURNIE -
Growers of Fine Trees,
Shrubs and Plants
Free Estimates
on Vinyl Floor Cover
by Monnington, and
Insulation.
You can count on us for
dependable service and
reasonable prices.
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