A YEAR IN THE FIELDS 



SO small that we hardly notice them. All 

 growth, all development, is a casting off, 

 a leaving of something behind. First the 

 bud scales drop, then the flower drops, then 

 the fruit drops, then the leaf drops. The 

 first two are preparatory and stand for 

 spring ; the last two are the crown and 

 stand for autumn. Nearly the same thing 

 happens with the seed in the ground. First 

 the shell, or outer husk, is dropped or cast 

 off ; then the cotyledons, those nurse leaves 

 of the young plant ; then the fruit falls, and 

 at last the stalk and leaf. A bud is a kind 

 of seed planted in the branch instead of 

 in the soil. It bursts and grows like a 

 germ. In the absence of seeds and fruit, 

 many birds and animals feed upon buds. 

 The pine grosbeaks from the north are the 

 most destructive budders that come among 

 us. The snow beneath the maples they 

 frequent is often covered with bud scales. 

 The ruffed grouse sometimes buds in an 

 orchard near the woods, and thus takes 

 the farmer's apple crop a year in advance. 

 Grafting is but a planting of buds. The 

 seed is a complete, independent bud ; it 

 has the nutriment of the young plant with- 

 in itself, as the egg holds several good 

 S8 



