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Updated: June 24, 2025
The tendency of the Horsechestnut to have its growth carried on by the terminal buds is so strong that I almost feel inclined to say that vigorous branches are never formed from axillary buds, in old trees, except where the terminal bud has been prevented from continuing the branch. This tendency gives to the tree its characteristic size of trunk and branches, and lack of delicate spray.
It is not advisable to study the Horsechestnut bud by cutting sections, as the wool is so dense that the arrangement cannot be seen in this way. The scales should be removed with a knife, one by one, and the number, texture, etc., noted. The leaves and flower-cluster will remain uncovered and will be easy to examine. The gum may be first removed by pressing the bud in a bit of paper.
The bud may also be studied in cross-section. This shows the whole arrangement. The plan is not so simple as in Horsechestnut, where the leaves are opposite. The subject of leaf-arrangement should be passed over until phyllotaxy is taken up. The scars on the stem differ from Horsechestnut in having no distinct bands of rings.
An expanding leaf-bud. 3. The Bud Scale-Scars. These are rings left by the scales of the bud and may be seen in many branches. They are well seen in Horsechestnut. If the pupils have failed to observe that these rings show the position of former buds and mark the growth of successive years, this point must be brought out by skilful questioning.
The bud may be examined by removing the scales with a knife, as in Horsechestnut, and also by cutting sections. The outer scales enfold the whole bud, and each succeeding pair cover all within. They are joined, and it is frequently difficult to tell where the suture is, though it can generally be traced at the apex of the bud. On the back is a thick stalk, which is the base of the leaf-stalk.
Remove the scales by cutting carefully through a single pair, opposite the leaf-stalk, and peeling them off. The scales are modified stipules, instead of leaf-stalks, as in Horsechestnut. The outer pair are brown and thick, the inner green, and becoming more delicate and crumpled as we proceed toward the centre of the bud. The leaves begin with the second or third pair of scales.
Let them arrange Flax, Four o-clock, Horsechestnut, Almond, Nasturtium, Maple-seeds, etc., under two heads. In the latter the cotyledons are so heavily gorged with nourishment that they never become of any use as leaves. As Darwin points out, they have a better chance of escaping destruction by animals by remaining in the ground.
By counting these we can tell how many leaflets there were in the leaf, three, five, seven, nine, or occasionally six or eight. This is not mentioned in the study of the Horsechestnut bud, because it cannot be proved to the pupils, but the transition is explained in connection with Lilac, where it may be clearly seen.
The axillary buds seldom grow unless the terminal bud is interrupted. The tree therefore has no fine spray. Ask the scholars to write a description of their branches and to compare them with Horsechestnut. These papers should be prepared before coming into the class, as before. The buds are four-sided. The scales and leaves are opposite, as in Horsechestnut.
There were trees everywhere beech and laburnum and larch, horsechestnut and lime and poplar, as far as the eye could reach, and the latter, standing straight up in the barer spots, were a notable feature in the landscape, as were also the alder-cars and occasional osier beds dotted about in marshy places.
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