234 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



members of the committee. As he has been called to such 

 work as has prevented these investigations, I propose to pre- 

 sent a few thoughts at this time, and make some suggestions 

 to direct our observations aud experiments, if we are unable 

 to give any time to experimenting. 



Buds are a provision of nature for the production of new 

 individuals. 



In the tree we regard them as a provision for branching. 

 But every branch is a new individual, which draws its nutri- 

 ment from the parent stock instead of from the earth by its 

 own individual roots, so that every tree, which we often regard 

 as one individual, is an aggregate of individuals, its trunk and 

 root being the joint product of all the leaves and branches it 

 has ever borne, itself being at any one time an aggregate of 

 as many individuals as it has living buds upon it. The trunk 

 of the tree is like our federal Union ; its branches like the 

 States. The tree is one, not as an individual, but as our 

 country is one. 



The bud, we have said, is a provision of nature for a new 

 individual. The fact of reproduction by buds and seeds we 

 know, but we know nothing of its cause. Every bud origi- 

 nates from a cell and from a cell in a particular place or under 

 peculiar conditions, and each plant is subject to a mathemati- 

 cal law according to which all its buds appear. But why all 

 trees of one species place their buds according to one law 

 and all the trees of another species adhere rigidly to another 

 law, no man can tell, probably no man ever will tell. 



The leaf-bud, so called, develops into a branch, and, as is 

 well known, can be transplanted into other kindred trees, for 

 budding and grafting are simply the transplanting of buds and 

 grafts into trees where nutriment is already elaborated for 

 them, rather than the transplanting of them into soil where 

 they must elaborate for themselves, if they live at all. Other 

 buds we call flower-buds. They develop two distinct kinds 

 of organs, and the great mystery of sex is manifested here, — 

 a wonderful provision that seems to appear in some form, not 

 only among the lowest animals, but among plants also. We 

 have learned under what conditions flower-buds will form, and 

 that is all we know. There is a law here so deep that we 

 cannot fathom it, but it is well to note the facts. 



