TREE-FORM OUT OF ITS UNIT. 19 



In the beech-tree, the bud-scales or covering leaves acquire 

 a somewhat horny texture. They are without pores, and 

 are, in botanical language, imbricated ; that is to say, they 

 cover one another like the shingles on the roof of a house. 

 Beneath these vegetable roofs, thus admirably constructed, 

 the young branch charged with all the nutritive leaves of 

 the next vegetative season lies imbedded in a warm downy 

 investment. 



Thus, even the defoliated shoot or vegetable cone is not 

 without its attractions. There it stands, exposed to the 

 fierce north wind, coated with ice from top to bottom. 

 It matters not that the snow-covered ground, in which its 

 roots lie imbedded, is frozen as hard as granite, for there 

 are the protective leaves, or bud-scales. These are the ap- 

 pointed guardians of its life, and well do they perform their 

 office. As soon as spring and warm weather come, do we 

 not see the young shoots and the bright green leaves, which 

 they have covered and protected, come forth uninjured ? 

 Exposure to the air, which is now mild and pleasant, will do 

 the newly-developed shoots and leaves no harm, but is a 

 positive benefit. The services of the covering or protective 

 leaves of winter are therefore no longer required, and we 

 see them fall, one by one, from the stem. "Why ? Because 

 they have fulfilled the purposes of Providence in their creation. 

 They are, therefore, removed from the post of duty. 



The Second Year's Growth. With the gradual increase of 

 light and heat the snow and ice disappears, the ground be- 

 comes soft and friable, the air mild and pleasant, and in the 

 grand laboratory of organic nature all is again ceaseless 

 activity. The same beautiful yet evanescent floral forms 

 adorn the earth ; the bright green grass, the leafy verdure 

 of the woods charm the senses. Our vegetable cone with 

 its lateral and terminal buds feels the effect of the genial 

 influences that are abroad, and soon gives signs of a renew- 

 ed vitality. The (folia tegmentia) covering leaves sepa- 

 rate from each other, and the new generation of nutritive 

 leaves, sheltered by them through the winter months, are 

 put forth uninjured into the atmosphere. The leaves pro- 



