THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 31 



produced. The grape is a ripened ovary in which seeds fail to 

 develop, but in varieties that are not normally seedless fruits 

 are often found which lack seed. It is quite likely that pollina- 

 tion has some effect here. In the case of the navel orange, an 

 internode of the flower elongates, carrying the rudimentary 

 seeds upward and out of what is properly the ovary, and polli- 

 nation can have no effect; in fact, it is reported that the stig- 

 matic surfaces of the flower are only imperfectly developed. 

 The fig is really a hollow branch with the flowers (stamens and 

 carpels) on the inside. In some varieties both kinds of flowers 

 are in the same fig, in others they are on different plants. It 

 is known that if the flowers of the Smyrna fig are not polli- 

 nated, the young figs drop off and it is probably correct to as- 

 sume that other figs behave in a similar manner. It may be 

 added, however, that several kinds of apples and pears are 

 known that produce good fruits without pollination, and some 

 varieties of forcing cucumbers develop when pollination is pre- 

 vented. The field is one that is scarcely touched as yet and 

 affords plenty of opportunities for original experiment. 



