CHAPTER III 

 THE GROWTH OF THE TREE 



No book on forestry, no matter how "popular" it may 

 be, would be complete without a brief sketch describing 

 the parts of a tree and how it grows, for on that knowl- 

 edge is based the management of the woodlot in all it- 

 phases. 



A tree is a plant of upright growth which usually 

 attains a height of at least fifteen feet. It consists of an 

 upright branching stem, roots, leaves, buds, flowers and 

 fruit. The stem is usu.-illy unbranched below, when the 

 plant is grown, forming a trunk or bole. 



The leaves, the most evident part of the tree in summer, 

 are the factories where the food for the nourishment of the 

 whole tn-e i- prepared. In thi> pnre they take in 

 carbonic acid gas from the air, and givr off oxygen as a 

 waste product. They may In- almost any shape, from the 

 feather-like compound leavefi of tin- honey locust to the 

 n< edle-like leaf of the pine or the men- -rale of the arbor- 

 vita', and the -i/e variefl greatly. No matter what 

 their shape or size, they perform the same functions of 

 manufacturing the raw materials taken from the air 

 and -oil into carbohydrates for plant-food. 



If the leave- ivmaiii on the tree o\vr winter, thi- tree 

 i- called an i-ii ; if the leave- all fall otT in t he 



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