SPRING NATURE STUDY. 609 



MAY BUD STUDY. 

 THE HORSE CHESTNUT BUD. 



BRING in the ends of two or three branches showing what 

 has developed from the buds. Note how the scales have 

 turned back and how loosely they are attached. Observe 

 the scar that each scale leaves when it has fallen off, and 

 the ring about the twig formed by the dropping off of 

 all the scales of each bud. 



Note the green stem which has formed from the bud, its 

 length (it usually grows much more rapidly on the twigs 

 near the upper and outer parts of the tree), the woolly cov- 

 ering still adhering to it, and the way in which it has sepa- 

 rated the leaves, which were so close together when they 

 first appeared. Compare the stem and ring formed from 

 the bud of this spring with those formed from previous 

 buds. The growth of the twigs toward the top and outside 

 of the tree is more rapid than that of those near the trunk ! 



The leaves have been separated by the growth of the 

 stem and of the leaf stems. Try to get a fresh branch 

 (not wilted) which has grown vertically, and let children 

 look down on it, and discover how the three or four pairs of 

 leaves have arranged themselves so that all can get as much 

 light as is possible, the younger leaves filling the spaces be- 

 tween the stems of the older leaves. Each leaf includ- 

 ing one leaf stem and all the parts fastened to it has 

 five to seven divisions or leaflets, each division narrow 

 at the base and broader toward the tip, shaped somewhat 

 like a wedge. When all are spread out, each leaflet can 

 get the sun. 



Compare appearance and arrangement of leaves on a twig 

 growing horizontally, or nearly so, with twig growing ver- 



