32 Our Field and Forest Trees 



We can find them, too, if the buds grow singly 

 along the stem, so that the branching is what 

 botanists call " alternate," for the buds which 

 stand one by one along the stem are not scattered 

 anyhow, but are always arranged in some fixed 

 plan. When we see what the plan is, we find 

 that, here and there, a spray is missing, because, 

 here and there, a bud has never awakened. 



These undeveloped buds on the living boughs 

 are not dead: they are only what botanists call 

 " latent." 



If next summer's leaves are eaten by a plague 

 of caterpillars, or if a light forest fire shrivels 

 the foliage but spares the life of the tree, these 

 latent buds will wake up and give first aid to the 

 injured. 



Thanks to such buds as these, the woods can 

 leaf again in later summer, after the spring's 

 leaves have all been killed by sad misfortune. 

 Mother Nature seems to have stretched a point 

 and given a second robe this time, though the 

 ladies of the wood generally receive one new dress 

 apiece in spring, and are expected to make it do 

 all summer. 



Buds formed, perhaps several seasons ago, 

 have the whole branch to themselves, plenty of 

 air and light, and plenty of roots below ground 

 to gather food for them — and they take this 

 good chance to grow. 



Let us look again at the bare branches where 



