46 THE OAK. 



Fig. 11) receive contributions at successive nodes, and 

 pass down as stronger and stronger strands through 

 about seven internodes, their lower ends losing them- 

 selves by joining to others ; and, in fact, the larger bun- 

 dles seen on the transverse section (Fig. 9) are larger 

 because they consist of so many contingents running 

 parallel, or nearly so, down the stem. 



It results from this that all the vascular bundles in 

 the stem are simply composed of strands which run 

 into the leaves on the one hand, and down the inter- 

 nodes on the other; and, as further comparison will 

 show, all these bundles are continuous in the stem, 

 since the lower ends of the strands are joined on to 

 other strands. 



Moreover, as an examination of the diagrams and 

 figures shows, the main course of these bundles in the 

 stem is approximately parallel they run side by side 

 down from the leaf insertion through two, three, or 

 more internodes, and only bend aside to any great ex- 

 tent when they pass out into a leaf or to join with 

 others. In the section (Fig. 9), for instance, all the 

 little bundles at the angles and outside the ring are cut 

 at levels where they have abandoned the larger bundles 

 and are bending outward through the cortex to the 

 leaves ; lower down we should find them joining to the 

 larger bundles at various levels, and running down with 

 them, just as strands from leaves at higher levels are 

 now conjoined to make up these larger bundles. 



The group of vascular bundles which passes into the 



