TREES OF THE NORTHERN UNITED STATES 



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BRANCHING. The regular place from which a branch 

 grows is the axilot a leaf, from what is called an axillary 

 bud ; but branches cannot grow in the axils of all leaves. 

 A tree with opposite leaves occasionally has opposite 

 branches ; while a tree with alternate leaves has all its 

 branches alternate. 



Most branches continue their growth year after year 

 by the development of a bud at the end, called a terminal 



bud. Many trees form this 

 bud for the next year's 

 growth so early in the 

 year that it is seldom or 

 never killed by the winter 

 weather ; such trees grow 

 very regularly and are 

 symmetrical in form. Most 

 evergreens are good ex- 

 amples. Fig. 3 represents 

 a good specimen. The age 

 of such trees, if not too 

 great, can be readily ascer- 

 tained by the regularity of 

 each year's growth. The 

 tree represented is sixteen 

 years old. The branches 





Fig. 3. 



that started the fifth year, about the age at which regular 

 growth begins, are shown by their scars on the trunk. 



The terminal buds of many trees are frequently killed 

 by the frosts of winter; such trees continue their growth 

 by the development of axillary buds ; but as growth from 

 an axillary bud instead of a terminal one will make a 

 branch crooked, such trees are irregular in their branch- 

 ing and outline. Just which axillary buds are most apt to 

 grow depends upon the kind of tree, but trees of the same 

 variety are nearly uniform in this respect. Most trees are 

 therefore readily recognized by the form of outline and 

 the characteristic branching. A good example of a tree 



