CHAPTER L 



THE TREE. 



A tree is a woody plant with a single stem more or less 

 branched and taking on what is commonly known as the tree 

 form. 



The most evident parts of a tree are roots, stem or trunk, 

 branches, buds, leaves, flowers, fruit and seed. 



The Stem, Branches and Roots are made up of inner 

 bark, outer bark, sapwood and heartwood. The outer bark, sap- 

 wood and heartwood are 

 made up of concentric circles 

 termed annual rings. During 

 each period of growth two 

 new rings are formed one 

 on the outside of the sapwood 

 and another on the inside of 

 the outer bark and as we sel- 

 dom have more than one sea- 

 son of growth each year but 

 one' ring is formed on the 

 wood in a year; so that by 

 counting the rings of wood 

 in the stem we can determine 

 very closely the age of trees. 

 In very rare cases we have 

 two periods of growth in one 

 year, as in 1894, when the 

 drouth of midsummer ripened up the wood of the trees by the 

 first of August and the rains of autumn started a new growth, and 

 caused some trees and shrubs to flower in October, but such 

 occurrences are very uncommon and the extra rings formed 



Figure i. Cross-section of Woody 



bark, (b) inner bark or bast, tc) cam- 

 bium, (d,e,f,g and h) annual rings 

 of wood, and (i) pith. 



