242

Nature makes her arrangements a long while before-
hand. She is both thrifty and farsighted, like a
good housekeeper who looks out that things shall be
ready against the time when they are sure to be.
needed; and with excellent reason, for Aer house-
keeping is done on a scale so vast. If there was no
calculation (as we should say), no system, what a
state this world would be in! what a mixed-up,
wrong-side-out, unfinished, behind-hand condition !
Think of what would happen if there
was no preparation until April for having
the trees leaf out. " The forests could
not be dressed in a hurry; and it takes
_a long time to fit even a rose for its
appearance in public; order, method
and fixed laws—the proces- 1
sion of the seasons could not Vy
go on without them. There My
are exceptions, it is true; but Z
then — they ave exceptions.
Nothing ever materially affects
her steadfast ways; in the
great plan tnere is never fail-
ure. Harm may come to cer-
tain individuais, or species, or
even to a given tract of coun-
try —such as untimely cold,
or heat, or blight, or something
equally disastrous— but the
damage is not felt beyond:
the earth comes out with each
returning spring as fresh and
vigorous as
if it was im-
mortal, and
the laws
which gov-
ern the uni-
verse joy-
ously assert
‘themselves
in spite of adverse forces.

One of the laws is,
that before the leaves
have dropped from the
trees in autumn, those
for the next year (includ-
ing the branches which
are to grow in one sea-
son) are provided for.

 

HALF DIAME-

HORSECHESTNUT,
TER.

 
 
  
    
 
 

A, BUTTERNUT; B. SUMACH
REDUCED ONE THIRD IN DI-
AMETER.

A WINTER GARDEN.

were once buds,
trunk of a tree
branches grow
some of just
about. There
terminal buds,

All branches and shoots
you know. The stem or
grows out of the root: the
from the stem, and from
such buds as we are talking
are two special ways — from the
and from those which are called
axillary, The first, as you of
course understand, is at the end
of the stem, which
pushes right along
by means of it from
year to year.

 
    
   
  

Thesecond word
seems to belong
more
strictly

to the

science Ik

of anat-

omy, for (

Sfaxil’? EA

means 4 POSSIBLE DEVELOP-
: MENT. REDUCED ONE
the arm- yarr IN DIAMETER.
pit; so ; ‘

the axillary buds are those in
the angle at the base of the
leaves. You can see them
before the summer
is gone, for they are
ready and bid-
ing their
time; and though

they do not exactly

crowd the leaves off,

they speedily take

the vacant places;

it is just as it is in

human life: “ ‘The

king is dead. Long

live the king!”

The nourishment which they
will need by and by is ready in
the bark and elsewhere, for
unseen forces have been all
summer as busy as ants storing
up food ;. besides this, there is
power in all vigorous plants to
absorb air, - moisture, -and
warmth. The growth of a tree

   

SPIREA, NATURAL SIZE