46 THE OAK 
nodes, and pass down as stronger and stronger strands 
through about seven internodes, their lower ends losing 
themselves by joining to others; and in fact the larger 
bundles seen on the transverse section (fig. 9) are larger 
because they consist ‘of so many contingents running 
parallel, or nearly so, down the stem. 
It results from this that all the vascular bundles in 
the stem are simply composed of strands which run 
into the leaves on the one hand, and down the inter- 
nodes on the other; and, as further comparison will 
show, all these bundles are continuous in the stem, since 
the lower ends of the strands are joined on to other 
strands. 
Moreover, as an examination of the diagrams and 
figures shows, the main course of these bundles in the 
stem is approximately parallel—they run side by side 
down from the leaf insertion through two, three, or more 
internodes, and only bend aside to any great extent 
when they pass out into a leaf or to join with others. 
In the section (fig. 9), for instance, all the little 
bundles at the angles and outside the ring are cut at 
levels where they have abandoned the larger bundles 
and are bending outwards through the cortex to the 
leaves ; lower down we should find them joining to the 
larger bundles at various levels, and running down with 
them, just as strands from leaves at higher levels are 
now conjoined to make up these larger bundles. 
The group of vascular bundles which passes into the 
stem from the insertion of a leaf is spoken of collec- 
