io4 



THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS 



' heart ') longitudinally into halves and make out by 

 means of a pocket lens the end of the axis or growing-point, 

 covered over by many tender, undeveloped, or rudimentary 

 leaves. Such a bud is clearly a condensed, immature 

 branch-system, consisting of a central axis, which bears 



Fig. 63. Brussels Sprout in Vertical Section. 



leaves, in the axils of which buds are formed, each of these 

 being the beginning of a new lateral branch. 



If we now examine a Cabbage and Cos Lettuce we see that 

 in such cases the axis elongates so little that, when the 

 plants are full grown and ready for market, they still bear 

 all the characteristics of huge buds. They are not protected 

 on the outside, however, by tough scales, and are hence 

 called naked buds. It will be interesting to compare with 



