In the 1940s, this kid was spending a peaceful afternoon concerned with taxonomy or botany or mycology.
Today he's just a druggie wearing shorts and oxfords looking for a buzz. That's a shame.
You could imagine this picture going through a few drafts, just to get the colors right. "No, Jameson, the kids will be reading this in mid-fall, give him some autumnal colors!"
Jameson had had enough of the hectoring, and so he decided to make a few more changes. "They'll read this at Halloween, will they? Let's see how they like stories about boy-eating ferns!"