Vol. 37 



No 3 



BULLETIN 



OF THE 



TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB 



MARCH, 1909 



The study of winter buds with reference to their growth and 



leaf content * 



Emmeline Moore 



(with plates 9-1 1 ) 



The growth of buds in whiter has been the subject of much 

 speculation and discussion by the botanist and by the casual ob- 

 server. This speculation and discussion, stimulated by an occa- 

 sional winter of unusual mildness, has given rise to various theo- 

 ries about the disturbance of that quiescent state, or winter rest- 

 period, which has stamped itself so indelibly on the trees and 

 shrubs of our temperate zones. Inquiry into these theories, es- 

 pecially those relating to the winter growth of buds, discloses the 

 fact that there has been comparatively little investigation or care- 

 ful observation to substantiate them. The scattered statements 

 which have crept into literature are, as a rule, merely opinions or 

 passing observations made in the course of investigation of other 



phenomena. 



Askenasy (1877) found some evidence of the growth of buds 

 in winter. He says that the so-called period of rest, extending 

 from about the first of November to the beginning of February, 

 is one of extremely slow growth, a growth which in November 

 becomes almost ntV. His investigations, however, cover the rest 

 period of but one species of our trees, Prumfs Avium, the wild 

 cherry, and include the study of the flower buds alone. 



^^^I^ded the second pTze by the Boston Society of Natural History in the Walker 



Prize Competition for 1908. 



[The Bulletin for February, 1909 (36: 55-1 16. //. /-<?) was issued 4 Mr 



1 909. J 



117 



