126 Keegan: The Bursting of the Buds in Spring. 
protein and hydrocarbons, and attended by a host of other cells Be 
containing crystals. In fact, one of the most notable features | 
in this connection is the wide distribution, concentrated accumu- 
lation and persistence of lime (as oxalate of calcium) in the _ 
young shoots, pith, bud-scales, and buds during the whole of 
the winter season. we 
But do the buds themselves participate in the important | 
transformations that come to pass in their immediate vicinity ? — 
Yes, they do, but perhaps not quite so completely. In October, 
or at the time of the fall of the leaf, each bud is enriched with 
starch, albumenoids, tannin, and a little fatty oil; but it is very 
remarkable that at this period they are bereft of glucose or 
other respirable material, and hence they cannot then be arti- 
ficially made to grow. During the winter this starch disappears, — 
a portion of it migrating apparently in a modified form into the 
embryonal organs at the base of the buds, while the other 
portion undergoes some unknown decomposition. There is 
See Re fa > ores . 
Sa | es ees ean, Ee 
resistance against the wintry chill? The easily coagulable 
protoplasm, or the passive or active proteid matter, is liberally 
enriched with non-freezable fatty oil, which is encompassed by 
a readily-combustible carbohydrate, physiologically influential 
as a source of heat. In addition to this, moreover, the tannin 
present. in October persistently remains over unaffected in 
quantity during the winter, and occupies chiefly the cells which 
© not contain much oil. In cases like those of the horse- 
chestnut and our fruit trees, where, even already i in the autumn, 
not only the end of the young shoot, but a branch-system with 
flower buds and more or less developed leaves are already so far 
formed, it is evident that a still further resisting coverlet must. 
be provided. This is done, in fact, by the formation of what are 
called leaf-scales, which are incrusted with a waxy, resinous, OF 
gummy exudation, and lined inside by a felt of cellulosic down 
or wool; and our poetical evolutionists are always much pleased 
to trace the gradual transition in form between the scale and the 
— Satria young leaflet. 
