346 Junior Naturalist Monthly. 



Every summer the white pine forms these side buds aroimd the 

 main end bud. Since the buds are formed at the end of the season's 

 growth, by counting the whorls or circles of branches which grow 

 from them we can tell how old the tree is. The distance between 

 the whorls also show how much the branch has grown in length 

 each year. Besides growing in length, the white pine and all other 

 trees grow in thickness. As the tree grows older, the twigs, branches 

 and trunk all get bigger around. Every boy knows that if a piece 

 of wire netting is nailed aroimd a tree, in a few years the tree will 

 grow too big for the wire. The tree gets bigger around each year 

 by building in a thin layer of new wood and new bark just under- 

 neath the old bark. As the tree grows bigger, the old, outside 

 bark gets too tight and has to break open, If we go into the woods, 

 we shall see that the bark of every kind of tree has a different way 

 of breaking open. How many trees can you tell by the way the bark 

 breaks open? 



But to return to the yearly layers of wood; these are the annual 

 rings which we see in the stump of a tree. By counting these rings, 

 we can tell how old the tree is. We may see some rings thicker than 

 others, or in the white pine, we may see that some of the whorls of 

 branches are further apart than others. It may be that the tree 

 was not thriving well that year, or perhaps there was not rain or 

 sunshine enough so that it could get all the food it needed from 

 the earth and the air. 



The cones grow from buds on the end of the branches near the 

 top of the tree. These buds open early in April and by the middle 

 of May the little cones are in full bloom. All the higher plants 

 grow in order to bear flowers which change into seeds. Every 

 seed contains a little plant and when the seed is made comfortable 

 in warm, moist earth, it will break open and the little plant will grow 

 and make a big plant like that from which the seed came. 



Go out of doors and study the pines. Do 3^ou see the blossoms? 

 What do they look like? Watch for changes that take place in them. 

 What other trees are in bloom near your school or home? 



LETTERS FROM JUNIOR NATURALISTS. 



All the letters sent by Junior Naturalists to the University are 

 filed away carefully. If you were to visit Uncle John's offices you 

 would find large boxes in which the letters are kept. Now at the 

 close of the year we know the boys and girls that have written to 

 Uncle John, and we also know the subjects in the leaflets that they 



