18 OCTOBER 1940, Page 12

COUNTRY LIFE

Autumn Standards What is the loveliest specimen of autumnal coloration? On the banks of the Danube everyone would say the sumach ; in Newfoundland the maple, though the groundling berries and the currants are near rivals. In England the beeches give the most magnificent general effect, as they do in the German Ruhr. If it is a question of an individual tree, perhaps the prize should go to the wild cherry. One of the best places to find it is the side of a minor road or two on the east side of the Whipsnade Zoo. . The particular beauties of Bucks, Hens and Bedford coalesce round about that delectable ridge. In the garden I would put rhus cotinus in front of all rivals, if only the leaf is in question.