NATURE-STUDY 



within during the winter. Do not tell the pupils that the 

 scales are warm, cozy blankets or jackets that prevent the 

 freezing of the buds in winter, for that is not true. In weather 

 20 below zero or more these thin scales would be scant pro- 

 tection against freezing. Ask the children if they would 

 want nothing more on in such weather. In fact the buds 



do freeze within. 

 Providing the 

 freezing, and es- 

 pecially the 

 thawing out, 

 proceed slowly, 

 a frozen ear will 

 not be perma- 

 nently injured. 

 Frozen apples 

 and potatoes 

 can be restored 

 in good condi- 

 tion if thawed slowly, but if thawed rapidly become flabby 

 and soon decay. It is somewhat the same with vegetation 

 in winter. The artificial covering that we put over the 

 pansy and strawberry beds in winter does not prevent the 

 freezing of these plants, but it does prevent sudden freezing 

 and thawing. The nonconducting litter over the plants per- 

 mits these changes to take place only slowly. So also the 

 scales on the buds are nonconductors and serve a similar 

 purpose. The natural litter of leaves and grass protects many 

 seeds, roots, and stems of plants in winter. Even the snow 

 is a protective covering in this sense, preventing the killing 

 of winter wheat and clover and many wild plants. 



FIG. 116. Buds are Condensed Branches. 



The two upper twigs show young branches that have come from buds as 

 short as those on the two lower twigs. Lilac. 



