64 WINTER FIELD MEETING. 



Branches are secondary stems developed from a pri- 

 mary one. When the leaves are opposite, as in the Maple, 

 the branches will be opposite, and when they are alternate, 

 as in the Beach, the branches will be alternate. In the 

 axil of each leaf there are normally from one to three buds 

 which are branches in a rudimentary form. In the Maple 

 there are three, one directly in the axil of the leaf which 

 is called the axillary bud, and one on each side called ac- 

 cessory buds. These do not all develop into branches : 

 indeed if all the buds grew into branches there would be 

 as many branches as leaves. In the normal condition the 

 axillary and terminal buds are more fully developed, so 

 that they are ready to commence growth as soon as the 

 season permits, but if the terminal or axillary bud is de- 

 stroyed, then the accessory buds take their place, so that 

 this mode of development holds sufficiently to determine 

 and exemplify the plan of ramification. 



This plan of growth, which is carried out in the Maple, 

 does not hold good in all other trees, as in the Lilac, for 

 example, the terminal always fails and the lateral or acces- 

 sory buds take its place, producing the forked form of 

 branching. 



A similar growth takes place in the Sassafras. Buds 

 and branches can be observed in the winter season with 

 more accuracy than at any other time, as the leaves are all 

 off, giving an uninterrupted view of the whole tree. Every 

 different species of tree has a form or symmetry peculiarly 

 its own, and the nurseryman or botanist is as sure of a 

 tree in the winter as in the summer, provided it is grow- 

 ing naturally or has been pruned by one who understands 

 the natural symmetry of the tree. Certain causes, such 

 as a prolonged season of warm weather, or an unusually 

 severe frost in the early fall, work a marked change in the 

 ramification of branches. In either case the frost kills 



