TREE-FOKM OUT OF ITS UNIT. 19 



their duty to preserve from injury the amount of work already 

 done. A beautiful vegetable cone has been constructed by 

 the leaf-labor of the first year, and it is left in their charge. 



In the beech-tree, the bud-scales or covering leaves 

 acquire a somewhat horny texture. They are without 

 pores, and are, in botanical language, imbricated ; that is 

 to say, they cover one another like the shingles on the roof 

 of a house. Beneath these vegetable roofs, thus admirably 

 constructed, the young branch charged with all the nutri- 

 tive leaves of the next vegetative season lies imbedded in 

 a warm downy investment. 



Thus, even the defoliated shoot or vegetable cone is not 

 without its attractions. There it stands, exposed to the 

 fierce north wind, coated with ice from top to bottom. 

 It matters not that the snow-covered ground, in which its 

 roots lie imbedded, is frozen as hard as granite, for there 

 are the protective leaves, or bud-scales. These are the ap- 

 pointed guardians of its life, and well do they perform their 

 office. As soon as spring and warm weather come, do we 

 not see the young shoots and the bright green leaves, which 

 they have covered and protected, come forth uninjured ? 

 Exposure to the air, which is now mild and pleasant, will 

 do the newly-developed shoots and leaves no harm, but is 

 a positive benefit. The services of the covering or pro- 

 tective leaves of winter are therefore no longer required, 

 and we see them fall, one by one from the stem. Why ? 

 Because they have fulfilled the purposes of Providence in 

 their creation. They are, therefore, removed from the post 

 of duty. 



The Second Year's Growth. With the gradual increase of 

 light and heat the snow and ice disappears, the ground be- 

 comes soft and friable, the air mild and pleasant, and in the 

 grand laboratory of organic nature all is again ceaseless 

 activity. The same beautiful yet evanescent floral forms 

 adorn the earth ; the bright green grass, the leafy verdure 

 of the woods charm the senses. Our vegetable cone with 

 its lateral and terminal buds feels the effect of the genial 

 influences that are abroad, and soon give signs of a renewed 



