MAPLE BUD 



117 



it is soft and watery, but during the latter half of summer it 

 uses its food in hardening its wood and in forming buds for 

 next season's growth. 



Which tree blos- 

 soms the earlier in 

 spring, the Norway ma- 

 ple or the silver maple ? 

 In the silver maple 

 which appear first, 

 leaves or blossoms ? 



A Cabbage is a Bud. — 

 A cabbage head is a 

 giant bud on the top of 

 a stalk. Look at the 

 next cabbage that you 

 have for dinner. Its 

 central stem and leaves 

 are like the stem and 

 leaves of a maple bud, 

 but it lacks a scaly cov- 



ering. 



If a cabbasre is 



allowed to grow, the 



Blossom Bud of Norway Maple 

 expanded 



stem within the head 

 lengthens into a tall stalk which has the leaves of the head 

 arranged a few inches apart along its whole length. This 

 stem bears flowers and seeds. 



What other garden vegetables grow in heads, or buds ? 



Age Marks. — When a bud opens, its scaly coverings fall 

 and leave scars on the bark. The scars, instead of remaining 

 close together, are drawn a little apart by the growth of the 

 central stem, so that they form a ring about an eighth of an 

 inch across. These rings are formed wherever a bud stood 

 and show the beginning of each year's growth. (See p. 95.) 



Buds are like Bulbs. — Buds and bulbs are much alike. In 

 both, while this year's crop of shoots, leaves, and blossoms are 



