ON BUDS 



9 



There is a remarkable point about the Lime and 

 some of our other forest trees and shrubs, which 

 Vaucher (2) seems to have been the first to notice, 

 namely, that the terminal buds die, and that very 

 early. Fig. 10 represents a twig of Lime drawn at the 

 end of May ; the terminal shoot and stipules (St) are very 

 small, and easily drop off. If a branch be examined a 

 little later, it will be found to be terminated by a scar, 

 left by the true terminal bud, which 

 has dropped away, so that the one which 

 is apparently terminal is really axil- 

 lary. 



Fig. 11 represents the end of a shoot 

 of Hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus), taken 

 in July, and shows how snugly the bud 

 nestles between the stump of the ter- 



minal shoot and the petiole of the leaf. 



. 

 Lhe same thing occurs in the Elm, 



Birch, Hazel-Nut, Lilac, Willow, Ac. 

 In these and many other species the 



* 



bud situated apparently at the end of 



,1-1 i i , T, .,, 



the branchlets is in reality axillary, 

 as is shown by the presence of a ter- 

 minal scar, due to the fall of the true terminal bud. 

 I have found that even at the end of May the terminal 

 buds of the Lime have almost all died and fallen away. 

 But why do the terminal buds wither away ? In 

 some cases the bud contains a definite number of leaves, 



FIG. 11. YOUNG 

 SHOOT OF HOKN- 



base of p^oie, the 



upper part having 



J^JgJffi \^ 



the upper part has 



already dropped off ; 



s, scar of stipule. 



