Oct. 30.—Sat in my verandah this morning watching the autumn leaves falling and trying te work out just how and why it all happens local gardening book not a bit helpful just quotes Horace at me, "heavy autumn collects the bitter toll of death" Don't like that a bit. because I think that autumn is a period of rest rather than of death: anyway Horace never saw my gardener sweeping up autumn leaves, because he makes it one of the liveliest occulations I have ever seen, and knows seventeen different ways of making noises while he does it. Just at this moment in my reverie 1 found myself acting my youngest unmarried daughter (who had suddenly grown long hair again) and the following conversation took place:
She: Why do leaves fall in autumn Daddy?
I: Because all plant life depends upon a chemical compound known as chlorophyll when ət disintegrates (as it does at certain temperatures),..then that particular plant life must until more chlorophyll pops up to again, But why do we have autumn tints Daddy?
I: Because although chlorophyll is green it other colouring matter in it such as carotene the red of the carrot), so when the green part of chlorophyll dies off it leaves the reds and yellows behind She: What is chlorophyll Daddy?
I: If you really want to know it is C55-H72-
05-N4-Mg....-but that misses out the Xanthophyll which gives the yellow' colours. ne: What is Xanthophyll, Daddy?
(Swish-swish-sh bang-era No! I had not lost my temper and it was not another aid: it was only the gardener dropping his broom, and that's what woke me up, In Parenthesis-
Explanation Tue attitude of the British military with regard to the Japanese desire to send war vessels up the Soochow Creek appears to be "You can't do that there "ere."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.