46 THE OAK 



nodes, and pass down as stronger and stronger strands 

 through about seven internodes, their lower ends losing 

 themselves by joining to others ; and in fact the larger 

 bundles seen on the transverse section (fig. 9) are larger 

 because they consist of so many contingents running 

 parallel, or nearly so, down the stem. 



It results from this that all the vascular bundles in 

 the stem are simply composed of strands which run 

 into the leaves on the one hand, and down the inter- 

 nodes on the other; and, as further comparison will 

 show, all these bundles are continuous in the stem, since 

 the lower ends of the strands are joined on to other 

 strands. 



Moreover, as an examination of the diagrams and 

 figures shows, the main course of these bundles in the 

 stem is approximately parallel they run side by side 

 down from the leaf insertion through two, three, or more 

 internodes, and only bend aside to any great extent 

 when they pass out into a leaf or to join with others. 

 In the section (fig. 9), for instance, all the little 

 bundles at the angles and outside the ring are cut at 

 levels where they have abandoned the larger bundles 

 and are bending outwards through the cortex to the 

 leaves ; lower down we should find them joining to the 

 larger bundles at various levels, and running down with 

 them, just as strands from leaves at higher levels are 

 now conjoined to make up these larger bundles. 



The group of vascular bundles which passes into the 

 stem from the insertion of a leaf is spoken of collec- 



