!7g BUDS AND BRANCHES 



Where the terminal bud is undisputed monarch of the 

 bough, as in the pine and fir, or where it is so strong 

 and vigorous as to overpower its weaker brethren and 

 keep the lead, as in the magnolia 

 and holly, we have excurrent 

 growth. In plants like the oak 

 and apple, on the other hand, 

 where all the buds have a more 

 nearly equal chance, the lateral 

 branches show more vigor and the 

 result is either deliquescent growth, 

 or a mixture of the two kinds. In 

 the elm and beech, where the usurp- 

 ing pseudo-terminal bud keeps the 



328. Winter spray of elm. , , 1 , 



mastery, but does not completely 



overpower its weaker brethren, we find the long, sweeping, 

 delicate spray characteristic of those species. Examine 

 a sprig of elm and notice further that the flower buds are 

 all down near the base of the stem, while the leaf buds 

 are near the tip. The chief development of the season's 

 growth is thus thrown toward the end of the branch, giving 

 rise to that fine, feathery spray which makes the elm an 

 even more beautiful object in winter than in summer. 



An examination of the twigs of other trees will bring 

 out the various peculiarities that affect their mode of 

 branching. The angle, for instance, which a twig makes 

 with its bough has a great effect in shaping the contour 

 of the tree. As a general thing, acute angles produce 

 slender, flowing effects ; right, or obtuse angles, more bold 

 and rugged outlines. 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS 



1 . Has the arrangement of leaves on a twig anything to do with the 

 way a tree is branched? (68, 241 .) 



2. Why do most large trees tend to assume the excurrent, or axial 

 mode of growth if let alone? (244.) 



3. If you wished to alter the mode of growth, or to produce what 

 nurserymen call a low-headed tree, how would you prune it? (246, 247.) 



4. Would you top a timber tree? (246, 247.) 



