CHAPTER XIII 



Adventitious Shoots 



The shoots which appear in the spring grow 

 strong in the summer : in the winter they 

 remain stationary and pass the time in pro- 

 found sleep. In the spring they wake up 

 again and lengthen into branches, or open 

 into flowers. It is evident that these dor- 

 mant shoots, which have to endure the heat 

 of summer and the chill of winter, must be 

 clothed in such a way as not to be scorched 

 by the sun or injured by the cold. They are 

 all, therefore, covered with an envelope of 

 scales, and among such are those of the lilac, 

 chestnut, pear, apple, cherry, poplar and, in 

 a word, almost all our native trees. 



But though the tree may wait and devote 

 a whole year to developing its shoots, pro- 

 tected by their case of scales, there are a 

 number of plants whose time is limited, as 

 they only live for one year and are therefore 

 called annuals. Such are the potato, carrot, 



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