34 THE APPLE-TREE 



average of five flowers to the cluster, then about 150 flowers 

 would have been carried on my branch, with the potential- 

 ity of 150 fruits; but in fact not more than three or four 

 maturing fruits would have been produced m these years: 

 and I should think this a good proportion as blossoms and 

 apples go. Certainly the branch has done its part. There 

 have been three eventful years. 



I would not have my reader to suppose that one may 

 always distinguish leaf-buds and fruit-buds at a glance. I 

 may be mistaken in some of the above determinations, but 

 they are essentially correct for I have the twig before 

 me. In some varieties of apples the differences between 

 the two kinds of buds are less marked. The certain way 

 is to dissect the bud : one may then see what it contains. 



It now remains to determine how the branch was placed 

 in the tree. It must have been upright or very nearly so, 

 for the main axis is essentially straight and the branchlets 

 are about equally developed on all sides; moreover, there 

 is no indication in the bark that one exposure was the 

 "weather side." The big twig i apparently found a light 

 and unoccupied space into which to develop, but its exten- 

 sion is not greatly out of proportion. I suppose, however, 

 that my branch was not topmost in the tree ; there is no in- 

 dication in very long growth or strong upward tendency of 

 the branchlets to mark the branch as a "leader." 



Years ago I became fascinated with the study of knots 

 and knot-holes in the timber of wood-piles. They are ex- 

 cellent records of the events in the life of trees. In print 

 I have tried to show what they mean. I also worked out 

 the life-histories of twigs and published them in nature- 

 study leaflets and elsewhere. Hundreds of children were 

 interested in the twigs and buds, finding them unusual, every 



