Formation and Functions of the 



CHAPTER VII. CUim 





OF THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF 

 GROWING TREES. 



TJie Formation and Functions of the Buds. 



232. In common deciduous trees, there begins to form, in mid- 

 summer, in the axils of the leaves, a little cellular mass, 

 communicating with a medullary ray, partly covered by 



the bark, and usually protected by imbricating scales. 

 From these buds or germs, the leaves and blossoms of the 

 next season are to grow. The leaf-buds are usually more 

 sharp and slender than the flower-buds, a circumstance 

 quite noticeable upon the elm, and upon many fruit trees. 



233. The end of a twig is always terminated by a bud, 

 which advances as the twig extends in length, by the 

 formation of new cells within. Trees and their branches 

 increase in length and height by the formation of these 

 new cells under the terminal bud, and elongate only 

 during the season of active vegetation, in spring and 

 early summer. The annexed engravings, from Rossmass- 

 ler, represent sections of four kinds of buds. The first is 



a double one of leaf and flower, and the fourth is a flower- 4~i. Buds of 

 bud only. It will be seen that the rudiments of the future 



the Elm. 



Sections of Buds : 1. The Pine ; 2. The Bird Cherry ; 3. The Oak - and 4 



Aspen. 



