Focus on Fall

Signs of the season are all around us. But what are these?

By Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

October 19, 1999

1. It's a confection, all right, but does it look like maize to you?

2. 'My, what big teeth you have!' 'The better to clean your yard, my dear!'

3. Here's the edible 'star' of autumn. This is a close-up view of the blossom end.

4. Colonists thought that part of the flower of this buoyant fruit looked like a crane's beak. Hence its name (minus an 'e').

5. An English-speaking native American named Squanto taught colonists the secret of growing this crop: fish fertilizer.

6. The name is derived from the Old English word 'ge' (together) and the Gothic 'lofa' (palm of the hand).

7. The colors are there all the time, actually, but they're hidden by chlorophyll.

8. Many members of this vegetable family are delicious. Others can be scary at this time of year. These are just for show.

Answers: (1) candy corn; (2) rake; (3) apple; (4) cranberries; (5) Indian corn stalks; (6) work gloves; (7) leaf; (8) gourds.