I24 ROUND THE YEAR 



Let us now turn to the true foliage-leaves in the 

 centre of the bud. They are folded up fan-wise. 



Why is this ? 



A few weeks ago it was hard frost, but the Syca- 

 more-buds were already fully formed and exposed to 

 the air They were to be seen all through the winter, 



FIG. 39. Cross-section of Sycamore, showing scales and folded foliage-leaves. 

 Magnified. 



and had to endure all the cold and wet of the severe 

 season. One obvious precaution is to restrict as much 

 as possible the exposed surface of the leaves. Hence 

 leaves in the bud are packed up tightly, sometimes 

 folded, sometimes crumpled up, sometimes rolled 

 round. The hardships of winter explain why the 



