BUDS AND BRANCHING. 79 



at right angles and make a spreading tree, as in the 

 oak ; sometimes they bend more downwards to the 

 ground, as in the weeping ash or willow. Thus we 

 have a great variety in the branching and outline 

 of our trees (Fig. 52). Mark this as we walk 

 along, and notice how greatly it adds to the beauty 

 and the character of our scenery ! There is a like 

 variety on a smaller scale amongst the shrubs and 

 herbs. 



You will learn the different kinds of branching, 

 and the names given to them, when you are more 

 advanced. But you should learn now that branches 

 generally grow in a regular order, according to their 

 age. That is, those which are nearest to the grow- 

 ing end of the main stem, or axis, from which 

 they spring, are generally the youngest. Their order 

 in space is generally their order in age. And this 

 order of growth is called acropetal succession* 



But sometimes it is not so, for the buds may lie 

 dormant,! and their branches are then said to be 

 deferred. 



And sometimes branches grow quite out of order. 

 When a tree has been cut down, or its lower branches 

 cut off, you can often see new stems shooting out from 

 the base of the old stem. Such also are those stems 

 which sometimes grow up from the roots, much to the 

 annoyance of the farmer and the gardener. You may 



* From the Greek " akros" at the top ; " petalon" a leaf. Acropetal, 

 growing, developing at the highest point of the stem or axis. 



t From the Latin " dormio" I sleep. 



