BUDS AND BRANCHES 



137 



Fig. 156. 



lowing 



the trend oi tl 



154. Differences in the branching of trees. — We are now 



prepared to understand something about the causes of that 



endless variety in the 



spread of bough and 



sweep of woody spray 



that makes the winter 



woods so beautiful. 



Where the terminal bud 



is undisputed monarch 



of the bough, as in the 



pine and fir, or where it 



is so strong and vigor- 

 ous as to overpower its 



weaker brethren and 



keep the lead, as in the 



magnolia, tulip tree, and holly, we have excurrent growth. 



In plants like the oak and apple, 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 usurping pseudo-terminal bud 

 keeps the mastery, but does not completely 

 overpower its fellows, 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 bas6 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, giv- 

 ing rise to that fine, feathery spray which 

 makes the elm an even more l^eautiful 

 object in winter than in summer (Fig. 158). 

 An examination of the twigs of other trees will bring out the 



various peculiarities that affect their mode of branching. The 



FiQ. 157. — Winter 

 spray of ash, an op- 

 posite-leaved tree. 



