Lazenby, W. R.

English

KnowledgeBank at OSU

VOLUME l APRIL, 1906 NUMBER 7 The Agricultural College EXTENSION BULLETIN BUDS IN EARLY SPRING-PROF. w. R. LAZENBY. In all places, then, and in all seasons, Flowers expand their light and soul-like wings, Teaching us, by most persuasive reasons, How akin they are to human beings. And with childlike, credulous affection We beheld their tender buds expand: Em hi ems of our own great resurrection, E·nhlems of the bright and better land.-LoNGFELLOW. PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY COLUMBUS Entered as Second-Class Matter November 17. 190\. at the Post Office at Columbus. Ohio, unjer Act of Congress July 16, 18'4 e AMERICAN ELM 1 Branch in winter state: a, leaf-scars; b, bud-scars; d, leaf-buds; e, flower-buds. 2 Branch, with staminate flower-buds expanding. 3 Branch more advanced. 4 Branch with pistilate flowers, the leaf-buds expanding. 2 BUDS IN EARLY SPRING Professor W. R. Lazenby. \Ve rejoice at the advent of spring. We enjoy the balmy air and bright sunshine. \Ve welcome the return of the birds and keep a sharp lookout for the early flowers. The trees and shrubs that have been sleeping during the long winter arc now beginning to awake. The first real signs of life are the swelling and bursting of the buds. Let us s~e what these buds arc and what they become. Buckeye Bud Lilac Bud Horse-chestnut Bud Buels are undeveloped stems and may become leaves, flowers, or leafy branches. They arc of various shapes and sizes according to the shrub or tree which bears them, but they are alike in this: from them all come flowers, leaycs, and new shoots. Buels that produce leaves or shoots and no flowers are called leaf-buds. Those that produce flowers and no leaves are called 3 flower-buds. There is another class of buds that produce both leaves and flowers, and they are called mixed buds. The object of the leaf bud is to keep the plant alive and make it grow. The leaves are the organs through which the plant breathes and by means of which it digests its food. They may be called the lungs and stomach of the plant. The leaves also collect or absorb a large part of the food of plants. If the leaves were all removed from a plant during the spring and summer it would di~ of starvation. The object of the flower bud is to produce flowers, and from these flowers comes the seed of the plant. Seeds are somewhat like the eggs of birds. As from the egg comes a young bird like the mother bird, so from the seed comes a young plant like the mother plant that produced it. With reference to their position on the plant, buds are called tcrmiual or lateral. The bud at the extreme tip of the stem is called the terminal bud. It terminates or ends the branch or shoot that bears it. Terminal buds are usually larger and often develop earlier than the lateral buds that are borne on the sides of the branch or stem. The beech, buckeye, horse-chestnut, hickory, lilac, and other trees and shrubs have large terminal buds. If you examine them carefully while they are opening, you can scarcely fail to b'e interested in the various ways nature has pro-tected them from the severe cold and storms of winter. You will first find the bttds surrounded by a series of protective scales over-lapping each other like the shingles on the roof of a house. Then you may find some fine water-proof material and wooly-like hairs that also serve to protect the parts within. If you have the chance to see the buds of the horse-chestnut you will find them covered with a brown, sticky varnish which makes a very good storm coat. You may have noticed the close resemblance of the horse-chest-nut and buckeye. They belong to the same family of plants, and look much alike. But in winter we can always tell the horse-chest-nut by its varnished buds. In fact if we are observing we can tell almost any of our trees in winter by their buds. The flower buds of four common fruit trees are interesting. We shall all rejoice when our apple, pear, peach, plum, and cherry trees are in bloom. We shall enjoy the beauty and fragrance of their flowers all the more if we know something about the buds from which the flowers come. The flower buds of the peach are quite prominent from about the first of February in central and southern Ohio, and are usually of good size. Only one flower comes from each bud, and as a rnle more than one-half of all the buds on a peach tree are flower buds. Unfortunately many of the flower buds are killed by our severe winters. You can easily tell when peach buds are killed. All that you have to do is to cut the bud open and see whether the little round ovary in the very center of the bud is green. If it is black or dark colored the bud is killed an I will produce no fruit. Until quite late in the spring there is very little di:fferenc' between the leaf bud and flower buds of the apple. As a ml e th~ 4 flower buds are borne on spurs or short twigs. They are but little larger than the leaf buds, but are more regular in shape and usually a trifle longer. The so-called blossom-buds of the pear, which are so prominent in spring are good examples of mixed buds. Each one contains a cluster of flowers varying \-')rn six to nine in number, and, in addi-tion, five or six leaves which cL:velop ancl form a whorl around the f!ower cluster. The flower buds of the cherry arc formed early in th~ summer Pear Bud Beech Bud Cherry Bud ;,cfore they bloom. In other words cherry trees produce buds nearly .i year in advance of the flowers. There are often from three to six tlower buds in a single cluster and each bud produces from two to five flowers. Is it any wonder our cherry trees are so loaded with blossoms? How many will count the flowers that come from single buds from common fruit trees? 5 Conditions Necessary for Seeds to Sprout Experiment No. 1. In tumblers or bottles of water place about twenty grains of corn, beans, or peas, and let them soak exactly one day. On the following day put the same number of grains of corn, beans, or peas in other bottles or tumblers of water and let them soak three hours. So arrange it that those seeds that have been soaking one day and those soaking three hours may be taken from the water at exactly the same time. Place the seeds on a cloth and carefully dry them by pressing a rag against them. Put the seeds in dry bottles and cork them. Tie paper tightly over them if you have no corks. Mark one "Soaked one day" and the other "Soaked three hours." Keep them in a warm room. Look at the seeds from day to day. Why is it that those soaked one day sprouted? \Vhich seeds had absorbed the most moisture? Seeds must be so planted that they will receive sufficient mois-ture to sprout them and the soil must be so prepared that it will retain sufficient moisture for the seeds. Experiment No. 2. It will be found that the seeds in one bottle in experiment No. 1 will sprout, but they will not continue growing, if the bottle has been corked tightly. Take out the cork and immediately afterward put a lighted match into the bottle. The sprouts have taken some-thing from the air and the match will not burn. Fill a second dry bottle more than half full of seeds that have been soaked one day. They will put forth only short sprouts if the bottle be tightly corked. There was not enough air for so many sprouts. Place a few seeds in a tumbler of water for several days. \Vhat results? Sprouting seeds need fresh air. Experiment No. 3. In a tumbler or tin can put some wet sand; in another tumbler or can put some clay that is about the proper consistency for "mud pies." Plant three or four grains of corn one inch deep in each tumbler. Place a piece of glass over each tumbler to prevent the soil drying rapidly by evaporati,on. If the clay cracks, dampen and fill up the cracks. The seeds in the sand will sprout and grow a little; the seeds in the clay will not sprout. In one the air could circulate, in the other, it could not. It is necessary to stir soil to ventilate it. Experiment No. 4. Plant a few seeds in tumblers or cans. Set one out of doors when the air is cold; keep the other in a warm light room. This experiment will prove that heat is also necessary to sprout seeds. 6 txperiment No. t. "First Book of Farming" by Goodrich. Copyright 1905. Doubleday, Page & Co., N. Y. Beans soaked 3 hours. Beans soaked one day. Both removed from water and put into dry bottles. Experiment No. 2. "First Book of Farming" by Goodrich. Copyright 1905. Doubleday, Page & Co., N. Y. A. B. C. Beans in both bottles soaked one day, and then put into dry bottles. Bottle A contains sufficient air to start the few seeds. Bottle B had not enough. The water in the tumbler C did not contain enough air to sprout the beans. 7 Experiment No. 5. In a good size box plant corn at different depths. In one place J !ant three gr,1ins two inches d;:ep, another three inches deep and o.O on, each t11ne increasing the depth by one inch. Dore holes in the box for drainage. Keep well watered and the top rnil loose (This experiment will teach us that many times corn fails to come np becanse it has not the strength to force its way throngh th · -,oil.) Exp21Lr..ent No. 6. Plant heans after the plan "uggeste<l in experiment ~o. Ti. Yon wi 1 note that beans ~hould not be planted very deep or the,. will not he able to push through the soil each of the "half beans" th_ little plant carries up with it for food. Does corn carry any of its food above the soil as the b,•an does? Does the garden pea? Which may be planted the deeper, beans or peas? vVhy should lettnce and many of our common fine flower seeds be sowed on a well-pulver-ized soil or seed bed and then ;,tirred into the soil by thing jn:-.t th(· finger tip"l, or by firming by pre;,sing a board or hand against th soil? List of Trees, Shrubs and Flowers for School Grounds Trees: Ash, Dirch, Catalpa, Coffee Tree, Elm, Gingko, Ih1ckeye, Das -wood or Lin<len, Maple, 1Inlberry, Oak, Swc~t Gum, SyCL-rnrn·c, Tulip (commonly called Poplar), \Yillow. Shrubs: Darherry. Dutton Dush, Red-bud (Judas Tree), Fringe Trc::, Japan Qnince, Elcler, llnrning-bush, Corn us (Dog-wood), Privet, Lilac, Syringa, Flowering Cnrrant, Bush Hon~y­suckle, .5'nowLall, Spiraeas or Bridal \Vreath. Climbers: Virgini:t Creeper, Bitter-,weet, Clemati,.,, Trum:)ct Cr.:eper. Wista1 ia, l\Ioon Seed. Annual Climbers: l\Iorning Glory, l\loon \'ine, Hop-vine, Sweet Pea, Nasturtium. Flowering Plants : Annuals. Asters, Bals:ims, Cosmos, Petunia, Phlox, Poppy, Sun-flowers, Castor-oil Bean. Perennials. Native A.sters, Golden-rod. Blue-bell, Larkspnr, Foxglove, Hollyhock, Golden Glow, Peony, Large Phlox, Helenium, 8 Experiment No. 3. "First Book of Farming" by Goodrich. Copy rig!. t 1905. Doubleday, Page & Co., N. Y. A. B. Corn planted in hardened clay in tum '>!er A could not get suffi 2ient air for >prou·ing. The moi,t sand in tu11Jb!er B aJmitteJ enough air for sprouting. "First Book of Farming·· by Goodrich. Copyright 1905. Doubleday, Page & Co., N. Y. A seed tester consisting of two plates and a moist cloth. 9 The School Paper To establish the haLit of reading good books and papers the work should be begun in the el~mentary grades. There is much waste of time in reading the miscellaneous articles in the average newspaper. Such clean, wholescrne papers as the Little Chronicle and the Pathfinder should be found in ev:cry country school. \Vhen the boys and girls haYe once come into the current of events they are willing and anxious to read what has most to do with building A Country School Ground Improvement Tulips and hyacinths planted last fall will be found blooming this spring as shown in this illustration. np wholesome institutions and what makes for the better rather than material that has little more than sensationalism to com-mend it. Let our children have good books and papers and we have little to fear from their future reading. nut teacher or parent who is careless or indifferent on this point may be unconsciously assisting to sow seed from which ''a harvest of barren regrets" may be reaped. 10 The Little Chronicle being used in a country school. The country school library and the school newspaper-The Pathfinder. Both in real use. 11 With such beautiful trees and spacious playground, it is not strange that the children love the school. A Country Scho .] Gru,md Imµrovemtnt. A crimson rambler-rose five years old. 12 REPORT BLANK 0· o 11 and rdur tll th~ Collete of Ai:,r tt rt rn o Stal<:: Un •a~ 1y) A garJen veg-etable recor,l kept last year by lcie Claar. A very accu ratd y kept record. IffPOKt 81..ANK (Fill 1• .i. 1J. r1.tnrn to the Coltei~ o! Agr1.:ulturr., Ob.i.o Sh.le Umvel"Sity) A well kept flower record by Jessie Battin. Such records as these are expected of all our boys and girls who have be en furnished seeds. 13 Farmers and their families coming on the electric car to visit the Agricultural College at the Ohio State University. Near the University Spring just after dinner. 14 After an inspection of the Agricultural College has been made. Ready to return home after spending a pleasant and profitable day. Townshend Hall at the Ohio State University. This is where the summer course in agriculture for country school teachers will be given. 15 Come, come, com~! Not a sigh, not a tear, E'er is found in sadness here, ·Music soft, breathing near, Charms away each care. Birds in joyous hours, among Hill and dale, with grateful song, Dearest strains here prolong, Vocal all the air. 16 

Buds in Early Spring

https://kb.osu.edu/bitstream/1811/90659/1/CFAES_OSUE_1_7.pdf

Buds in Early Spring

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

KnowledgeBank at OSU