Thus in the length of stem occupied by five buds
you have buds facing in five different directions--plenty of choice for
all pruning purposes."
"Oh, nonsense, Webb; you are too everlastingly scientific. Buds and
leaves are scattered at haphazard all over the branches."
"That shows you observe at haphazard. Wait, and I'll prove I'm right;"
and he seized his hat and went out. Returning after a few minutes with
long, slender shoots of peach, apple, and pear trees, he said: "Now put
your finger on any bud, and count. See if the sixth bud does not stand
invariably over the one you start from, and if the intervening buds do
not wind spirally twice around the stem, each facing in a different
direction."
The result proved Webb to be right. He laughed, and said: "There, Len,
you've seen buds and branches for over forty years, and never noticed
this. Here, Alf, you begin right, and learn to see things just as they
are. There's no telling how often accurate knowledge may be useful."
"But, Webb, all plants have not the five-ranked arrangement, as you term
it," his mother protested.
"Oh, no. There is the two-ranked, in which the third leaf stands over the
first; the three-ranked, in which the fourth leaf stands over the first.
Then we also find the eighth and thirteenth ranked arrangements,
according to the construction of various species of plants or trees. But
having once observed an arrangement of buds or leaves in a species, you
will find it maintained with absolute symmetry and accuracy, although the
spaces between the buds lengthwise upon the stem may vary very much.
Pages:
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191