'with Hints for their Removal. 57 



light, quickly perish ; but when, by accident, they stand singljr, 

 the lower branches are as permanent as those of the top, nay, 

 even more so; and, moreover, they appear to be as necessary a 

 part of the system. ... A great deal has been written," he 

 observes, " relative to the propriety of reducing the head of 

 a tree, as a means of increasing the bulk of the trunk. The 

 question lies in a nutshell. The larger the head, the larger must 

 be the trunk : also the diameter of the latter is increased by 

 the number of branches which are, or have been, produced by 

 the former. In proportion as the roots are increased and 

 extended, in like manner are the stem and head. Severe 

 mutilations of the head paralyse the energies of the roots ; 

 and, vice versa, reducing the number of branches, to give mag- 

 nitude to the stem, is ridiculous. Every individual twig of the 

 head is a part of the stem ; and the former could not be de- 

 veloped without the assistance of the latter, which, while it 

 conveys support, is itself enlarged by this very function. In 

 fact, every part of a tree depends on, and, in its turn, lends 

 assistance to, every other." Here, then, we have Mr. Main's 

 opinion. He says further, " that probably Dr. Darwin got his 

 ideas of the stems of trees being increased by descending 

 fibres from the leaf-buds, from the spectacle of a hollow willow 

 tree being partly filled with roots, which, from time to time, 

 had descended from the head ; " but, he adds, " that was no 

 corroboration of the doctor's conclusion." 



After such evidence as this, I may presume to state my own 

 observations. Let any one strip a leaf, when in a growing 

 state; and he will find, as Mr. Lindley observes (in Lecture 4. 

 p. 615., when speaking of leaves), " that their intmiate con- 

 nection with the bark might easily be discovered, by tearing 

 the petiole of a growing leaf from its point of union with the 

 branch ; when it would be found that a portion of the bark, 

 and even of the alburnum, would be stripped off with it." 

 But I advise to go farther, and to strip it off' when it has done 

 growing; and it will be found to break off quite smooth at the 

 point of union with the branch, without tearing any of the 

 bark or alburnum with it, and leave every part that connected 

 it to the shoot behind, for the increase of the bark or wood; 

 which, I think, clearly proves that the descending fibres of 

 the leaf and leaf-buds are incorporated with the bark and 

 alburnum. But those who still doubt should examine farther, 

 and begin with the last formed leaf and bud at the end of the 

 shoot ; and they will find that the bud springs directly from 

 the pith, then with a knife separate the leaf and bud together, 

 when they will find how the new shoot is formed, and in- 

 creased from the descending fibres of each successive leaf 



