SOME PLANT BIOGRAPHIES. 205 



is but a tiny sapling, with a short stem, already 

 woody ; but year after year, this stem grows 

 higher, branches out and divides, and slowly 

 clothes itself in the smooth grey bark charac- 

 teristic of the species. The particular way in 

 which it branches is this : each autumn there is 

 formed at the base of every leaf a winter bud, 

 long and brown, and covered with close scales, 

 which enable it to survive the cold of winter. 

 When spring comes round again, each one of 

 these buds develops in turn into a leafy branch, 

 so that (accidents excepted) there are as many 

 new branches or twigs every year as there were 

 leaves on the tree in the preceding season. The 

 young leaves and branches emerge slowly and 

 cautiously from the buds in spring, for fear of 

 frost ; they are protected at first by certain scaly 

 brown coverings known as stipules. Gradually, 

 however, as the weather grows warmer, the 

 stipules fall off, and display the tender green 

 leaves, exposed to the air, but still folded to- 

 gether. As soon as they car*, trust the season, 

 however, the leaves unfold, though they are still 

 thickly covered at the edges by protective hairs, 

 which afterwards fall off, but which guard the 

 fresh green chlorophyll in the cells just at first 

 both from chilly winds and from the injurious 

 effect of excessive sunlight. Year after year 

 the beech-tree grows by so subdividing and 

 adding branch to branch ; while its stem in- 

 creases by yearly rings of growth, till it attains 

 at length considerable dimensions. 



During many such seasons of growth the 

 beech-tree does not flower ; all the material it 



