ii68 Home Nature-Study Course. 



(4). Is the cavity or depression where the stem grew narrow and 

 deep and funnel-shaped or broad and shallow like a saucer? 



(5). Carefull}^ examine the depression at the other or "blossom-end" 

 of the apple. Fruit-growers speak of it as " the basin." Note its shape 

 and the number of its parts. Do you think it is really the remains of 

 the apple's blossom? If so, of what parts? 



(6). Describe the skin of your apple: does it seem quite tough, or 

 very easily bruised? Has it a bloom which may be rubbed off? Does 

 it seem waxy or oily, as though it had been greased and then wiped 

 off? (This character is best determined by the sense of touch, and 

 does not mean the bright smoothness that makes the fruit look as if 

 made of wax, which fruit dealers usually designate by the term waxen). 



(7). From what sort of injury does the skin protect the apple? Take 

 three apples, of equal soundness, and peel one of them; place them 

 all on a shelf or in some place where the air is considered ordinarily 

 pure. Let one of the sound apples be in contact with the peeled apple 

 the other not touching it; note how much sooner the peeled apple begins 

 to rot than the other two, and whether the sound apple that touches the 

 peeled one begins to decay at the point of contact. 



(8). Take another apple with a smooth, unblemished skin, and vac- 

 cinate it with some juice from another apple that has begun to decay; 

 perform the operation with a pin or needle, pricking first the unsound 

 fruit and then the sound one; it may be done in patterns around the 

 apple or with the initials of the operator's name. Note whether decay 

 attacks any other parts save those where the virus was inserted. Tell 

 what you think these two experiments should teach us as to care and 

 storage of the fruit. 



(9). Cut an apple through its center from stem to blossom-end. Des- 

 cribe the color, texture and taste of the pulp between the skin and 

 the core. Is it coarse or fine-grained; crisp or smooth; juicy or dry 

 and mealy; sweet or sour and to what degree, from pleasant tartness 

 to very sour; does it exhale a fragrance or have a spicy flavor? 



(10). Is the flesh immediately surrounding the core separated from 

 the rest of the pulp by a line more or less distinct? This is called the 

 core line and differs in size and outline in different varieties. Tell whether 

 the space inclosed by the lines in your apple is large or small, longer 

 than wide or wider than the length. 



(11). The stiff parchment-like walls of the seed-cells are called carpels. 

 How many of these does the apple contain ? Do all apples have the same 

 number of carpels? Are the carpels of all apples smooth and glossy, 

 or do some have a soft velvety outgrowth on the inside ? If so, is the 



