28 



HORTICULTURE FOR SCHOOLS 



A- 



-B 



As to position, buds may be terminal, on the tip of the 

 stem; or lateral, on the side of the stem (Fig. 15). Lateral 

 buds always originate in the axils of leaves, 

 that is, in the angle where the leaf joins the 

 stem. The leaves fall, finally, 

 leaving scars, above which the 

 buds can be seen. The or- 

 dinary active bud continues 

 the growth the year following 

 the dropping of the leaf in 

 whose axil it was borne. 



44. Fruit - buds. Flower- 

 or fruit-buds are formed from 

 the same kind of tissue as are 

 leaf -buds. Very early in their 

 development it is difficult to 

 tell which are flower- and 

 which leaf-buds, even when 

 microscopic sections are made. FlQ 

 Later the differentiation is so 

 marked that fruit-buds can be 

 easily distinguished from leaf- 

 buds with the microscope. 

 When well developed, the 

 flower-buds can usually be identified by their 

 plump appearance and by the fact that they stand out 

 from the stem more than the leaf-buds and are not so sharp 

 and pointed. In many cases, they may be distinguished from 

 the leaf -buds by their arrangement or position on the stem. 

 For example, many of the stone-fruits bear fruit-buds on the 

 lateral (side) branches, where the buds occur at the nodes in 

 threes, the middle one being a leaf-bud and the outer two 

 fruit-buds (Fig. 16). The peach tree bears its fruit in this 

 manner on wood formed in the previous season. This must 

 be taken into account when pruning. It is necessary not 



A nd teSli bu< B 



lateral. ' 



16. Peach 

 twi g showing 

 habit of bearing. 

 The buds are 

 borne at the nodes 

 in threes, the 

 middle one being 

 a leaf-bud and 

 producing a stem 

 bearing leaves; 

 the two outer are 

 fruit-buds. 



