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14      PROCEEDINGS OF THE WISCONSIN STATE
much to guide our investigations on the blossom buds of
the cranberry. He found in some of these that the blos-
som buds formed as early as the first days of July, and in
others as late as the last of October; that in the early
stages of any bud it is not possible to determine under the
microscope, as to whether it will grow out into a leafy
branch or produce a blossom. In its later development, if
it is a true blossom bud, the future blossom will be plainly
visible, and after the blossom is once set, its future growth
is almost sure to bring forth a blossom. In other words:
The development of that bud, if it developes at all, can
scarcely be modified so as to obliterate the blossom.
Prof. Goff has further determined that at the time of
the formation of the embryo blossoms in the buds, their
development is promoted by sunshine, cool weather and a
scarcity of the water supply; that if, instead of these influ-
ences, the plant has an abundance of heat, water and
shade-shade either from foliage or clouds-it will mature
comparatively few blossom buds.
If we knew when the embryo blossoms were formed in
the cranberry, we might aid their development by
removing the tall grass. and foul stuff that shuts out
the sunshine from the buds. We might even do something
toward diminishing the temperature, and we could do a
great deal toward lessening the water supply, and this
latter is, no doubt, one of the most potent factors in the
development of blossom buds.
Those who are under the erroneous impression that
every terminal bud on an upright will produce a blossom
the following season, are ready to inform me now that
they know that the blossom buds are formed as early as
the last half of July, and that they are nearly all formed
before the middle of August. I would accept this hasty
conclusion if the terminal germ of that bud was a part of
the future blossom; but the fact is, that when the terminal
bud unfolds in the spring, its terminal germ will continue
to grow upward and form a second upright, and the blos-
soms, if any there are, will spring out from the crotch or
axil of the scales that formed the winter bud. These buds
that spring from the axil of the scales are essentially in
their nature like the buds that may be found at the axil of
every leaf along the stem; they differ from other lateral
buds only in this: That, instead of developing into a leaf
bearing branch, they develop into a kind of small branch
called a "hook," which bears at its terminus the future blos-
som, the blossom being the end of that lateral branch,
or its terminal bud.
I suspect that well-formed terminal buds exist for a
long time on the uprights before these little internal axil-
lary buds develop into embryo blossom buds, but if we
only knew when they do develop we could aid- that devel-
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