CHAPTER IX 

 BUDS 



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

 winter condition, as directed in Sects. 63, 64, 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 nat- 

 ural 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. 



105. 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. i 



How do the scales with which it is 



covered lie with reference to those ? 



beneath them ? I 



Notice the sticky coating on the scales. i 



Are the scales opposite or alternate ? 2 i — 6 ! 6 — i — 2 



Remove the scales in pairs, placing I 



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



Make the distance from 1 to 1 as much | 



as 6 or 8 inches. I 



How many pairs are found ? i 



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. 



86 



