BUDS AND BRANCHES 97 
case it cannot grow straight on from the tip the next year, but 
one of the twigs a little farther back will be rapidly developed 
and will serve to prolong the main branch. 
Fie. 81. Opposite branching in privet 
The branch is shown as it appeared in March. The growth of the year terminated 
in a flower cluster, followed by fruit. Since no terminal bud was formed, the 
continuation of the main branch during the next season would have been by the 
strong growth of the twig tw : 
If the terminal bud of the main stem continues year after 
year to be the strongest, the general form of the tree will be 
somewhat conical, as are larches and spruces; but if some 
branches grow in length as fast as the main trunk, the tree 
will become round-topped and spreading, like an apple tree. 
