BUDS. 
viding for the next year; she is t »rning the vital energies of the plants to the 
formation of buds. Those little embryo plants, so nicely wrapped up in downy 
Bcales as to be able to bear the coldness of winter, in the ensuing spring will come 
forth from their snug retreats, and taking the places of the leaves which bad 
withered in autumn, delight us with new verdure and beauty. 
b. De Candolle supposes that in the latter part of summer, the eye is formed, 
and the young shoot forces its way through the bark ; but the young leaves wlnc)i 
would put forth, becoming chilled by the ungenial atmosphere of the coming win- 
ter, contract and harden, and at length form scales ; and that these scales after- 
ward protect the new leaves, which, urged by the same vegetable instinct, are, in 
their turn, seeking to emerge into light and air. If we admit this explanation 
with respect to the formation of scales, it seems not difficult to account for the 
covering of varnish, which defends the embryo leaves and flowers from moisture. 
When the leaf becomes a scale, it then absorbs from the sap but a portion of what 
was destined for its use, and the remaining sap may be converted into the resinous 
substance, or varnish. With respect to the downy coat upon the inside of the 
scales, this may be seen in the rudiments of the leaves, if examined before the bud 
is developed. These hypotheses do not, in any degree, derogate from the wisdom 
of Him who, " with art inimitable, folds up the tender germ ;" for whether He act 
by secondary causes, or " speak, and it is done," design is aUke apparent in all hia 
works. 
c. The term bud, in common language, extends to the rudiments of all plants, 
whether with scales or without, which originate upon other hving plants. Buds 
with scales are chiefly confined to the trees of cold countries. In 
the northern part of the United States, there ^ ^t>w trees which 
can endure the cold weather, without this securit.;^. Sweden, 
it is said, there is but one shrub* destitute of buds, and tnis, from 
the peculiarity of its situation, is always protected from the in- 
clemencies of weather. It is said that no perennial plants but 
those furnished with scaly buds can live in climates where it 
snows a part of the year. Trees of the torrid zone, whose wood 
appears hard and firm, perish in our latitude. In warm climates, 
the buds of the trees are without scales, the tender shoots not re- 
quiring their protection. That there is, in reality, a difference in 
the constitution of vegetables, as well as animals, is very apparent ; 
an orange-tree forms no scales to protect its buds from cold ; nor can the delicate 
tropical animals resist the rigors of a polar climate. There are cases, however, iu 
which both plants and animals change their habits. The horse- 
chestnut, in India, its native climate, unfolds its leaves to the 
atmosphere, without any check to their development ; in a cold- 
er climate, the leaves, in attempting to unfold, being checked 
in their progress, degenerate into scales and form buds. 
Figure 32 shows a branch of the buttonwood-tree {Platanus), 
in which the bud is formed within the petiole of the preceding 
year ; this performs the office of the scaly covering in other 
buds ; a is the lower part of the petiole cut vertically to show 
the cavity b, in which is contained the bud c. 
Fig. 33 represents a young branch of the tulip-tree (Lirioden- 
drum) : a a are scales which covered the bud, now two stipules, 
cauline, and oval ; b is part of the petiole of the leaf ; c, another 
envelope of the bud, from which is detached the envelope d, in 
order to show the situation of the leaves e, and the buds/. The 
buds / are each furnished with a scaly envelope like those seen at a, c, and d. 
• A species of Rhamnus which grows under trees, in marshy forests. 
b. Opinion of De Candolle with respect to the scaly covering of buds— The term bud, how extensive 
<n its application— c. Scalv buds chiefly confined to cold countries— Difference in the nature of vege- 
tables—They sometimes cFiange their habits ; example, the horee-chestnut— Explain Fig. 32— Explain 
Fig. 33. 
