How many scales are there in the buds you have examined?
How are they arranged?
How many leaves are there in the buds?
How are they arranged?
Where does the flower-cluster come in the bud?
Do all the buds contain flower-clusters?
What is the use of the wool and the gum?
Where do the buds come on the stem?
Which are the strongest?
How are the leaves arranged on the stem?
Do the pairs stand directly over each other?
What are the dots on the leaf-scars?
How old is your branch?
How old is each twig?
Which years were the best for growth?
Where were the former flower-clusters?
What happens when a branch is stopped in its growth by flowering?
What effect does this have on the appearance of the tree?
In some parts of the country the Horsechestnut is not so commonly planted
as in New England. In the southern states the Magnolia may be used in its
stead, but it is not nearly so simple an example of the main points to be
observed.[1]
[Footnote 1: Reader in Botany. VII. Trees in Winter.]