naked, the inner with long, silky hairs. Remove the scales one by one, as
in Lilac. The outer four or six pairs are so minute that the arrangement
is not very clear, but as we proceed we perceive that the scales are in
alternate pairs, as in Horsechestnut; that is, that two scales are exactly
on the same plane. But we have learned in the Lilac that the scales are
modified leaves, and follow the leaf-arrangement of the species. The
Beech is alternate-leaved, and we should therefore expect the scales to
alternate. The explanation is found as we go on removing the scales. At
the eighth or ninth pair we come upon a tiny, silky leaf, directly between
the pair of scales, and, removing these, another larger leaf, opposite the
first but higher up on the rudimentary stem, and so on, with the rest of
the bud. There are five or more leaves, each placed between a pair of
scales. Our knowledge of the parts of a leaf shows us at once that the
scales must be modified stipules, and that therefore they must be in
pairs.[1] Other examples of scales homologous with stipules are the
American Elm, Tulip-tree, Poplar and Magnolia. The leaves are plaited
on the veins and covered with long, silky hairs. The venation is very
distinct. The outer leaves are smaller and, on examining the branch, it
will be seen that their internodes do not make so large a growth as the
leaves in the centre of the bud.

[Footnote 1: See the stipules of the Pea, p. 31.]

[Illustration: FIG. 15.--Copper Beech. 1. Branch in winter state: _a_,
leaf-scar; _b_, bud-scar. 2. Branch, with leaf-buds expanding, showing the
plicate folding of the leaves.]

The leaf-scars are small, soon becoming merely ridges running half round
the stem.