TREE BUDS 165 



swell. They can be watched here by the young 

 children much more advantageously than out of 

 doors, as oftentimes the branches of the trees are 

 so high that the children cannot see the buds well. 

 It is best to take but few twigs at a time. 



Watching the sycamore twigs, a little green ball 

 appears upon one of the side shoots. We are sure 

 it must be a seed ball. It has a white stem about 

 three fourths of an inch long. On each of two 

 opposite sides of the ball is a leaf, growing from 

 its base. Between the ball and each of these larger 

 leaves is a tiny leaf, making four in all. The ball 

 grows quite rapidly, then becomes fluffy. It turns 

 gray — what can this mean? Now showers of pol- 

 len are falling from it every time it is disturbed. 

 Are there not seeds, too? (No, the stamens drop 

 off, leaving a white, woolly ball. It turns brown, 

 dies, and falls.) 



Now a ball resembling the one previously de- 

 scribed grows from a terminal bud. It has a light 

 green stem over an inch long. It is surrounded by 

 leaves as was the other ball. It grows and grows, 

 but sheds no pollen. It is the true seed ball. 



The staminate and pistillate blossoms of the 

 balm of Gilead tree grow on separate trees. We 



