86 



HISTORY OP THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



CHAP. VIII. 



Bods {gemnuje) are bodies of varied form, nature, 

 and aspect, generally formed of scales closely 

 imbricated upon each other, and containing in 

 their interior the rudiments of stems, branches, 

 leaves, and organs of fi-uctification. They are 

 alwaj's developed upon the branches, in the 

 axilla of the leaves, or at the extremity of the 

 twigs. They are oval, conical, or rounded, com- 

 posed of scales which are superimposed upon 

 each other, covered externally, in the trees of 

 our climates, with a viscous and resinous coating, 

 and furnished internally with a downy tissue, 

 destined to defend the organs which they enclose 

 from the rigours of winter. Accordingly, no 

 envelopes of this kind are observed on the trees 

 of the torrid zone, nor upon those which are 

 reared in the shelter of our hot-houses ; but 

 those vegetables which are destitute of them are 

 unable to resist the cold of our winters, and 

 wouldunavoidably perish were they exposed to it. 



Buds begin to appear in summer, that is, at 

 the period when vegetation is in its greatest 

 vigour and activity. They are then called eyes. 

 They enlarge a little in autumn, and remain 

 stationary during winter : but, at the return of 

 spring, they follow the general impulse com- 

 municated to the other parts of the plant ; they 

 dilate and swell, their scales separate and allow 

 the organs which they protected to emerge. It 

 is then only that they are properly called buds. 



The scales which constitute the outermost 

 part of the buds, are not all of the same nature 

 or origin. The only circumstance in which they 

 all agree, is, that they are always abortive and 

 imperfect organs. Thus, they are sometimes 

 leaves, petioles, or stipules, which have not ac- 

 quired their full development, but which how- 

 ever, in certain circumstances, grow, are un- 

 folded, and disclose their true nature. 



The annexedfigure, which 

 is a section of a branch of 

 the ash, exhibits the man- 

 ner in which buds origin- 

 ate from the parent stem; 

 a is the medullary canal 

 containing the pith. The 

 pith is also visible in the 

 centre of each of the buds ; 

 but the pith of the bud, 

 or branch, and that of the 

 stem, do not at first com- 

 municate, nor do they join 

 tUl the second year. 



Buds are divided into 

 naked and scaly. The " 



first are those which have no scales at their ex 



terior, and of which all the parts shoot out and 

 become developed. Of this kind are the buds 

 of most herbaceous plants. Scaly buds, on the 

 other hand, are those whose outer part is fonned 

 of more or less numerous scales, as may be ob- 

 served in the trees of our climates. 



Buds are, in general, visible externally long 

 before they expand. There are trees, on the 

 contrary, in which they are, as it were, immersed 

 in the very substance of the wood, and only 

 make their appearance just when they are about 

 to be developed; as in the acacias, and many 

 other legumines. 



Buds may be simple, that is, may give rise to 

 a single shoot only ; as in the lilac and oak : or 

 compound, containing several stems or twigs ; as 

 inthefirs. According to tlie parts which they con- 

 tain, they are further distinguished into flower- 

 bads, leaf -buds, and mixed buds. 1 . The flower-bud 

 or fruit-bud, is that which contains one or more 

 flowera without leaves. It is generally pretty 

 large, of an oval or rounded form ; as in pear- 

 trees and apple-trees. 2. The leaf-bud contains 

 only leaves. Of this kind is the bud which 

 terminates the stem of the common mezereon. 

 3. Lastly, the mixed bud is that which contains 

 flowers and leaves together ; as in the hlac. 



Cultivatora are never mistaken respecting the 

 nature of a bud, which they easily distinguish 

 in fruit-trees by its form. ITius, the bud which 

 bears flowers is conical and enlarged, while that 

 which bears leaves only, is slender, elongated, 

 and pointed. 



The Turio. The name of turio is given to 

 the subteiTanean bud of perennial herbaceous 

 plants, which, on being developed annually, pro- 

 duces the new stem. Thus, the part of the as- 

 paragus which we eat is the turio of that plant. 

 The difference between the bud properly so called 

 and the turio, is, that the latter always arises 

 from a vivacious root, or a rhizoma ; in other 

 words, is of subterranean origin, while the bud 

 always arises upon a part exposed to the air and 

 light. 



The bulb is a kind of bud belonging to certain 

 perennial herbaceous plants, and particularly to 

 the monocotyledones. It has already been stated, 

 when describing the bulbiferous roots, that the 

 bulb is supported by a kind of solid and horizontal 

 plate, lying between it and the true root. To 

 this flattened tubercle, the fleshy scales, of which 

 the bulb is externally fonned, are fixed by their 

 base. The interior contains the rudiments of 

 the flower-stalk and leaves. These scales be- 

 come thicker, and more fleshy and succulent, 

 the more internally they are situated in the bulb. 

 The outermost, on the contrary, are tliin and 

 dry like paper. 



Sometimes these scales are of one piece, and 

 arc enclosed within each other, or a single scale 

 embraces the whole circumference of the bulb ; 



