BCTANY FOR BEGINNERS. ' '** VII 



" It was not the fig-tree renowned for fruit/' 



" Such as at this day to Indians known 



In Malabar or Decan, spreads her arras, 



Branching so broad and long, that in the ground] 



The bended twigs take loot, and daughters grow 



About the mother tree, a pillar'd shade 



High over-arched, and echoing walks between. 



You have here a picture of this wonderful tree, which is 

 aid to have given shelter to an army of several thousand me a 



Fig 25. 



Ficus Indicus, or Banyan tree. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Buds. 



163. Most leaves and flowers proceed from scaly coverings 

 called buds. The scales cover each other closely ; the outer 

 ones being dry and hard, the inner moist and covered with down : 

 they are also furnished with a kind of resin, which prevents the 

 embryo or future plant from being injured by too much mois- 

 ture. Buds have been known to lie for years in water without 

 injury to the infant plant, or branch, within. 



164. The sap is the great fountain of vegetable life ; by it? 

 agency, new bud? are yearly formed to replace the leaves and 

 dowers destroyed by the severity of winter. 



165. The bud is usually a cone-like protuberance formed b> 



163. What do most leaves and flowers proceed from 1 



164. By what agency are new buds formed? 



XG5 Where does me bud usually make its appearance 7 



