■o- THE FRUIT. _ - ;.. 



the non-development of five of the ovules, while the sixth grn^v.-; so lapiilly as to 

 obliterate the dissepiments and occnpy the M-holc space, j; The same change also 

 takes place in the hazle-nut. The ovary of the bhch is two-celled and tsvo- 

 o\Tiled, but, by the suppression of one cell witli its owxXq, the fruit becomes one- 

 celled. 



§ 1. OF THE PERICARP. 



111. The FRUIT consists of i\\^ pericarp and the need; the 

 ibrnier may be wanting, but the latter is essential. 



a. Truly naked seeds ai-e found in few plants, except the Conifcra;, where the 

 jjollen falls directly upon the o^niles without the intervention of the pistil. The 

 seedsjof the sage and the borage'^ ^\'\th. their respective tribes, generally said to be 

 naked, are not so in fact, for eacJa seed being the product of an ovary with one 

 ovule must necessai-ily be a one-seeded pericarp. 



112. The PERicAF.p (n^f?', around, xuqtto;, fruit )/is the covering 

 or envelope of the seeds, of whatever nature it may be.' It 

 consists of three different parts. l.fThe epicarp {em, upon) is 

 the outer integument, or skin. 2. The endocarp [svSor, witliin) 

 called also putamen or shell, is the inner coat, and the sarco- 

 carp {ouQ^, flesh) is the intervening fleshy substance.\ 



a. Thus, in the peach, the sldn;ls the epicarj), the fleshy pulp the sarcocarp, and 

 the shell of the stone the endocarp.N In the apple or pear, the endocarp forms the 

 glazed lining of the cells, tlie epicarp the epidermis, and the sarcocarp the inter- 

 vening pulp. 



113. The growth of tlie fruit depends iipon the absorption of s.ip from the parts 

 below. This fluid, finding no growing axis to be prolonged in the usual manner 

 into a branch, is accumulated in the pistil and adjacent parts, is condensed by 

 evaporation, and elaborated into cellular matter by the external surfaces, which 

 still perfonn the functions of true leaves. Thus these parts become gradually 

 distended into the foim and dimensions of the fruit. 



114. The process of ripening/consists of certain chemical changes, effected by 

 the combined action of heat, light, and air.'^. In its earliest stages,, the pericaip 

 consists of a structure similar to that of leaves, being composed of cellular ana 

 ligneous tissue, with an cpidcnnls and stomata (35, 37). 



o. Secondly, the fleshy pulp, or sarcocarp, fs developed, and becomes sour by 

 absorbing from the air an excess of oxygen, which is tlie proper acidifnng prin 

 ciple. 1 



h. Lastly, when the fniit has attained its full growth, the pulp becomes grada 

 ally sweetened and softened, by the fonnation of sugar at the expense of the 

 acids and of the ligneous matter, which before rendered it both sour and hard. 

 These transitions are exemplified by the. apple, plum, cuiTant,-i&c., where the 

 gi'eater portion of nutritive matter is stored up in the pericaiii ; but in the fruit of 



