C6 OF BUDS. 



of the leaves which had withered in autumn, delight us with 

 new verdure and beauty. 



The poet Cowperhas the following lines on the formation of 

 buds ; they evince that character of piety which distinguishes 

 this excellent man, in all his writings: 



"When all this uniform uncoloured scene, 



Shall be dismantled of its fleecy load, 



And flush into variety again, 



From dearth to plenty, and from death to life, 



Is Nature's progress, when she lectures man 



In heavenly truth ; evincing, as she makes 



The grand transition, that there lives and works 



A soul in all things, and that soul is'GoD. 



HE sets the bright procession on its way, 



And marshals all the order of the year ; 



HE marks the bounds which winter may not pan, 



And blunts his pointed fury : in its case, 



Russet and rude, folds up the tender germ, 



Uninjured, with inimitable art ; 



And ere one flowery season fades and dies, 



Designs the blooming wonders of the next." 



You may here see a representation of two scaly 

 buds; one of which appears as if cut vertically, in 

 'order to show the germ or embryo which is enfold- 

 ed by the scales. 



Some French botanists* have explained the form- 

 ation of the scaly covering of buds in a manner 

 somewhat different from the generally received opin- 

 ion. 'They suppose that the bud does indeed begin its existence 

 in' tjie latter part of summer, the eye being then formed ; that 

 it exists in this state during the winter, but being acted upon by 

 some change of the temperature, it begins to force its way 

 through the bark into the atmosphere ; here the young leaves 

 which would put forth, becoming chilled by an ungcnial atmos- 

 phere, contract and harden, and at length form scales. These 

 scales afterwards protect the new leaves, that, urged by the 

 same vegetable instinct, are in their turn, seeking to emerge into 

 Tight and air. If we admit this explanation with respect to the 

 formation of scales, it seems not difficult to account for that of 

 the downy substance, which, lining these scales, protects the 

 embryo leaves and flowers from cold ; and the covering of 

 varnish, which defends them from moisture. When the leaf 

 becomes a scale, it then absorbs from the sap but a portion of 

 what was destined for its use, and it is supposed that this sap i 

 converted into the resinous- substance, or varnish. With re- 



* De Candolle, and some others. 



Opinion of some botanists with respect to the formation of the scaly covering 

 of buds. 



