60 Field, Forest, and Wayside Flowers 
twigs spring from the places whence leaves fell in 
bygone autumns. But some of these twigs will 
be snapped off by gales, or blighted by insects, 
and some will be starved and crowded out by 
more vigorous neighboring twigs. In early spring 
many leaf-buds of forest-trees are eaten by squir- 
rels, which have waked up hungry after their long 
winter’s nap, and find that the world as yet con- 
tains little provender for them. And as every one 
of these devoured buds is a potential branch, their 
taking-off will affect the shape of the trees in 
years to come. 
So from various causes the trees of the wood 
do not show that symmetry in the positions of. 
their boughs which we admire in the arrangement 
of their leaves. Indeed, the branching of a full- 
grown tree bears little relation to the positions of 
the buds from which those branches sprang. 
The symmetry of the adult shrub or tree is 
further marred by the occasional development of 
what are called ‘‘ supernumerary '’ or ‘‘ accessory ’”’ 
buds. These are found especially on _ low- 
growing plants, likely to be browsed upon by 
cattle. 
When a leaf drops off the bramble, for instance, 
it leaves a group of buds, a larger one in the 
