286 Transactions of the Society. 



In the first group the fruits are adapted for dissemination 

 by animals, and especially by birds. The seeds have very generally 

 a hard or bony covering, so that when the fruit is eaten they 

 pass away uninjured. 



In strictness it is not, however, quite correct to say, as regards 

 the whole of the first division, that the " fruit " is pulpy. In the 

 Strawberry, for instance, what we call the fruit is rather the enlarged 

 receptacle. The true fruits are what we generally regard as the 

 seeds. The hips of the Eose, again, are an enlarged and deeply 

 concave receptacle, on the inner face of which the true fruits, or 

 achenes, are inserted. The seeds are protected both by the outer 

 woody structure of the achenes, and by the stiff hairs with which 

 they are covered. The haws of the Thorns differ from the hips of 

 Eoses in being more or less adherent to the bony mass in the 

 centre. 



In the Pear and Apple the cartilaginous carpels are completely 

 inclosed in a firm and fleshy receptacle. In all these cases the true 

 seeds are practically smooth. 



The fruit of the Easpberry and Blackberry is quite different 

 from that of the Strawberry. The outer coat of the acheue is 

 sweet and juicy, and is the part for the sake of which the fruit 

 is eaten. The receptacle, which is the delight in the Strawberry, 

 is in the Easpberry the white, fleshy, but not sweet, central cone, 

 which we leave behind. 



In the dry-fruited Eosaceee the achenes of Dryas terminate in 

 a persistent, feathery style, and are adapted for dispersal by wind. 



Geum montanum has a similar feather. In our common Geum 

 urbanum the carpels are hairy and terminate in a style, which 

 is hairy in the middle and smooth at each end. Immediately below 

 the hairy tract a projection develops (fig. 76), which gradually 

 elongates and curves. Finally, when the seed is ripe, the upper 

 part of the style detaches itself (figs. 77, 78, 79), so that the fruit 

 terminates in a hook, which entangles itself in the hair of any 

 passing animal. It will be seen, however, from the arrangement 

 that the fruit cannot be torn away until it is ripe. Any one 

 who has walked through a field where this species flourishes can 

 testify to the effective manner in which the achenes attach them- 

 selves to a passing animal. 



Potentilla Fragariastrum remarkably resembles the Strawberry, 

 and differs mainly in the absence of the fleshy receptacle. 



Some of the foreign species have winged seeds, and are evidently 

 adapted for dispersal by the wind. 



OxAGRARiEiE. — In this family we have six British genera, which 

 differ materially in the structure of the fruits and the mode of 

 dispersal of the seeds. 



The fruit of Epilobium is a pod, which opens from above 

 downwards. The seeds are numerous, and at the upper end have 



