forced
to develop in the axils of the lower scales.[1] The transition from scales
to leaves can be well studied by bringing branches into the house, where
they will develop in water, and towards spring may even be made to
blossom. Cherry, Apple, Forsythia, and other blossoming trees and shrubs
can be thus forced to bloom. Place the branches in hot water, and cut off
a little of their ends under water. If the water is changed every day,
and the glass kept near the register or stove, they will blossom out very
quickly. These expanded shoots may be compared with the buds. The number
of leaves in the bud varies.

[Footnote 1: See p. 31.]

The leaf-scars of Lilac are horseshoe-shaped and somewhat swollen. It can
often be plainly seen that the outer tissue of the stem runs up into the
scar. It looks as if there were a layer of bark, ending with the scar,
fastened over each side of the stem. These apparent layers alternate as
well as the scars. The epidermis, or skin of the leaves, is in fact always
continuous with that of the stem. There are no dots on the leaf-scars.

The rings are not nearly so noticeable as in Horsechestnut, but they can
be counted for some years back.

The flower-cluster can often be traced by a dried bit of stem remaining on
the branch.

The terminal bud in the Lilac does not usually develop, and the two
uppermost axillary buds take its place, giving to the shrub the forked
character of its branching. In all these bud studies, the pupil should
finish by showing how the arrangement of the buds determines the growth of
the branches.

QUESTIONS ON THE LILAC.

How do the scales differ from those of Horsechestnut?

How many scales and leaves are there?

How are they arranged?

Where does the flower-cluster come in the bud?

Do all the buds contain flower-clusters?

How does the arrangement of leaves and flower-clusters differ from that of
Horsechestnut?

How old is your branch?

Which buds develop most frequently?

How does this affect the appearance of the shrub?

COPPER BEECH (_Fagus sylvatica, var. purpurea_).

The buds are long and tapering, the scales thin and scarious, the outer
naked, the inner with long, silky hairs. Remove the scales one by one, as
in Lilac. The outer four or six pairs are so minute that the arrangement
is not very clear, but as we proceed we perceive that the scales are in
alternate pairs, as in Horsechestnut; that is, that two scales are exactly
on the s