CHAPTER VII. 



THE BUD-SCALES. 



Leaves or leaf-structures Simple buds covered by leaves Naked 

 buds True scales Transitional forms Reduced leaves 

 Numbers of scales visible Arrangement of scales Opposite 

 and decussate scales Whorled scales Distichous and spiral 

 scales Transitions from distichous to spiral Functions and 

 structure of bud -scales. 



WHEN the buds begin to swell and "burst" in the spring, 

 it is easy to convince ourselves that the bud-scales which 

 envelope them, or the outermost coverings which do not 

 present the brown colour, membranous or leathery texture 

 and other peculiarities of true scales, though not always 

 of exactly the same nature, are, generally speaking, leaf- 

 structures or appendages, however much they may be 

 altered in detail : their insertion, venation, relation to 

 buds in or near their own axils, &c., all bear this out. A 

 similar conclusion is arrived at by dissecting and com- 

 paring various buds. The chief results of investigations 

 in this domain may be summarized as follows. 



In certain cases the outer envelope is of the same 

 nature as in the large green buds of the Brussels Sprout, 

 Cabbage and Lettuce which we took as our first simple 

 type of a bud ; that is to say they are merely ordinary 

 green leaves, not essentially different from the rest of the 

 w. i. 4 



