56 THE FRUIT -BUD 



singly although the flowers are in clusters of six 

 or more. 



In the peach, however, the fruit -buds do not 

 contain leaves (Fig. 37), and, moreover, the 

 flowers are borne singly. Fig. 42 shows that the 

 same is true of the apricot. We may say, there- 

 fore, that the blossom -buds of the peach and 

 apricot are simple, and that those of the apple, 

 pear, plum and cherry are mixed. 



GOOSEBERRIES, CURRANTS AND JUNEBERRIES 



In the gooseberry shoot in Fig. 43, it is plain 

 that the part from a to b grew the last season, and 

 the portion below a two seasons ago. The upper 

 portion has simple buds, while the lower portion 

 has what appear to be elongated buds, but which 

 are really fruit -spurs. Each of these spurs, then, 

 bore a cluster of leaves last year, as if it had 

 been an apple spur. If the reader will examine 

 currant and gooseberry bushes at any time of the 

 year, he will readily conclude that they usually 

 bear fruits on spurs, but that these spurs gener- 

 ally bear only two or three times. 



The two-year-old twig of a black currant is 

 drawn in Fig. 44. It was taken in spring, and 

 yet the remains of the old fruit -stems persist on 

 each of the spurs. The point of attachment of 

 these stems shows the lengths of the spurs of 

 the year before, and the crook in the spur at 

 that point shows that the fruit -bud was terminal 



