276 THE ORIGIN AND 



posited by the proper juice in its descent from the 

 leaves, and pervade every part of the plant ; but al- 

 though it is impossible to demonstrate the fallacy of 

 this opinion ; yet, if it can be shown that buds, on 

 whatever part of the stem or branch they are found, 

 or at whatever period of the growth of these members 

 they appear, can be traced to their origin in the first 

 year's growth of the part on which they appear, it will 

 be, at least, rendered improbable. To effect this, we 

 have only to saw out a portion of any trunk or branch 

 on which a young bud appears ; and carrying the in- 

 cision down to the pith, and by carefully slicing the 

 portion horizontally, or in a right angle to the sur- 

 face of the stem, till we divide the bud to its centre, 

 we shall find a white line extending from it through 

 every concentric layer of the wood, till it touches the 

 medullary sheath. It is argued, however, that if an 

 Oak, or any old tree, be cut down in winter, leaving 

 the root in the ground, and a foot or two of the trunk, 

 we shall find on the margin of the stump multitudes of 

 buds protruding in the following spring. The fact is 

 admitted, but not the conclusion inferred from it, that 

 these buds originate on the surface where they appear ; 

 for, if they do not all push out on the same plane, 

 which is the fact, there is no doubt that each could be 

 traced to the centre of the trunk ; as Mr. Thompson 

 found to be the case in the Willow and some other 

 soft wooded trees, which after being cut down, dis- 

 played the same appearances as the Oak, and the lat- 

 ter can hardly be imagined as an exception to the 

 fact. If buds, therefore, be pre-organized germs, 

 they can be deposited only in the first year's growth of 

 the stem or branch, the admission of which would 

 defeat the object of Du Hamel's hypothesis. 



These facts, also, render less tenable the doctrine of 

 Mr. Knight, that buds proceed from the alburnous ves- 



