78 BUDS. 



Ala, a wing. This is a dilated and membranous append 

 age, with which some seeds are furnished, and which is un- 

 doubtedly, designed to waft them through the air. Capsules 

 are sometimes furnished with similar appendages, as in the 

 maple, (Acer,) and Ash; (Fraxinus.) 



BUDS. 



Buds, or Gems, are of three kinds, leaf buds, and flowei 

 buds, and those enclosing both. 



The leaf buds consist of rudimentary leaves in the room 

 of scales surrounding a vital, or living point, which is capa- 

 ble of elongation upwards, and of forming the stem by the 

 growth of the plant. 



The flower buds consist of scales, surrounding a point, 

 containing the rudiments of the flower, or the reproductive 

 organs of the plant. 



The buds of trees are not formed in the spring, or just 

 before they are developed into leaves and flowers, but in the 

 summer, or autumn. Buds are destined to preserve the rudi- 

 ments they contain, from the wet and cold of winter. 



That the use of buds in the economy of vegetation is for 

 the protection of the vital portion of the plant, is clearly pro- 

 ved by the fact that there is no bud scales in hot climates, or 

 in hot houses, where the temperature of summer is constantly 

 maintained. This circumstance is as wonderful as it is cu- 

 rious and interesting to the naturalist, since it shows that 

 plants are endowed with a sort of conservative power, by 

 which new parts are produced as they are wanted. In hot 

 climates, bud scales are not wanted, the rudiments of the 

 flower, requiring no protection, and the same is the case with 

 summer, or annual plants growing in our climate. In both 

 instances the outer coverings, or winter cases, are entirely 

 wanting. Whereas in all instances in which the embryo re- 

 quires protection from the frost of winter, cases or scales are 

 furnished accordingly. In Siberia, it is said, there are few 

 if any plants without buds. 



Buds have various forms, but are most commonly oval or 



What are the two kinds of buds? What do the leaf buds consist of? 

 What do the flower buds consist of? What is the use of buds ? How is 

 it proved that buds are produced for the protection of the embryo branch 

 and flower ? What is said with respect to the buds of Siberian plants ? 

 What are the forms of buds ? 



