CHAPTER VIII 

 BUDS 



130. Structure of Buds. — While studying twigs in their 

 winter condition, as directed in Sects. 77, 78, the student 

 had occasion to notice the presence, position, and arrange- 

 ment of buds on the branch, but he was not called upon 

 to look into the details of their structure. The most natu- 

 ral time to do this is just before the study of the leaf is 

 begun, since leafy stems spring from buds, and the rudi- 

 ments of leaves in some form must be found in buds. 



131. The Horse-Chestnut Bud. — Examine one of the lateral buds 

 on a twig in its winter or early Spring condition.^ 



Make a sketch of the external appearance of the buds as seen with 

 a magnifying glass. 



How do the scales with which it is 

 covered lie with reference to those 

 beneath them? 



Notice the sticky coating on the scales. 



Are the scales opposite or alternate ? 



Remove the scales in pairs, placing 

 them in. order on a sheet of paper, thus : 



Make the distance from 1 to 1 as much 

 as 6 or 8 inches. 



How many pairs are found? 



Observe as the scales are removed whether the sticky coating is 



1 The best possible time for this examination is just as the buds are begin- 

 ning to swell slightly in the spring. The bud of buckeye or of Cottonwood 

 will do for this examination, though each is on a good deal smaller scale than 

 the horse-chestnut bud. Buds may be forced to open early by placing twigs 

 in water in a very warm, light place for many weeks. 



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