60 Field, Forest, and Wayside Flowers 



twigs spring from the places whence leaves fell in 

 bygone autumns. But some of these twigs will 

 be snapped off by gales, or blighted by insects, 

 and some will be starved and crowded out by 

 more vigorous neighboring twigs. In early spring 

 many leaf-buds of forest-trees are eaten by squir- 

 rels, which have waked up hungry after their long 

 winter's nap, and find that the world as yet con- 

 tains little provender for them. And as every one 

 of these devoured buds is a potential branch, their 

 taking-off will affect the shape of the trees in 

 years to come. 



So from various causes the trees of the wood 

 do not show that symmetry in the positions of 

 their boughs which we admire in the arrangement 

 of their leaves. Indeed, the branching of a full- 

 grown tree bears little relation to the positions of 

 the buds from which those branches sprang. 



The symmetry of the adult shrub or tree is 

 further marred by the occasional development of 

 what are called "supernumerary" or "accessory" 

 buds. These are found especially on low- 

 growing plants, likely to be browsed upon by 

 cattle. 



When a leaf drops off the bramble, for instance, 

 it leaves a group of buds, a larger one in the 



