194 



PEAR. 



[CH. XIV 



edible, attractive part of the fruit is formed by the ovary 

 wall and by part of the seed-coat ; the protective function 

 is performed by the inner, hard part of the seed-coat. 

 Small seeds, like those of the gooseberry, probably escape 

 the teeth of animals as a result of their minuteness; in 

 the same way, the " pips " of apples and pears escape, not 

 by being hard enough to resist the crushing action of the 

 teeth, but by the smoothness and slipperiness of the seed- 

 coat. 



Pear (Pyrus communis). 



Fig. 94 shows a pear flower in which the petals have 

 fallen and the fruit is just beginning to develope. The 



FIG. 94. 



On the left a young fruit of the pear. On the right a mature fruit : both 

 longitudinally divided. O, the ovary. 



pear belongs to the same natural order (Rosaceae) as 

 the cherry and peach, and the architecture of the flower 

 may be described as an exaggeration of the floral 



