BY D. MCALPINE. 657 



The pears used in this investigation were Harrington's Victoria 

 and Achan, because they happened to be preserved up to the 

 month of September. It was found that, in the case of the pear, 

 potassium hydrate was not necessary for softening purposes, as, 

 after immersion for five days in oi'dinary tap-water, the skin 

 could be easily peeled off, and the flesh removed by needle and 

 brush, so that the vascular system stood out distinctly as shown 

 in Figs. 6, 7, and 8. 



If we follow the course of the vascular bundles from the fruit- 

 stalk, a connected view will be obtained fiom their entrance into 

 the fruit, and they can then be followed right through until the 

 blossom -end is reached. 



Fruit-stalk. — The fruit-bud which is borne by the short shoot 

 or " spur," will open out in the spring into a number of flowers, 

 of which only one may "set" and produce fruit. The flower is 

 really of the nature of a shoot, and the stalk represents the stem 

 or axis. If a transverse section of the stalk is made just where 

 it adjoins the flesh, ten distinct fibro-vascular bundles are seen 

 (Fig.l), although, on account of irregularities in growth, these 

 may often lose their distinctness, and run together. They are 

 continued into the fruit, and constitute the ten primary vascular 

 bundles which supply the rapidly growing fruit from the parent- 

 tree. 



Vascular System of"'Go7'e" and "Flesh." 



A transverse section of the pear through the "core" shows the 

 five cavities, each containing normally two seeds, enclosed by a 

 fleshy wall with a firm inner face(Figs.2, 3). An irregular layer 

 of "stone-cells" surrounds this, so that the ten vascular bundles, 

 seen so prominently in the apple between and opposite to each of 

 the carpels, are obscured. How densely the stone-cells are 

 crowded, particularly opposite the cai'pels, may be seen in Fig. 3. 

 But if a transverse section does not reveal much of a vascular 

 system from mere inspection, a longitudinal section gives a good 

 insight into the general structure(Figs.4, 5). The continuation 

 of the fruit-stalk is seen in the flesh, and the primary vascular 

 bundles soon diverge from it. There are five bundles only slightly 



