142 



THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



solitary, or in small clusters, with a stifif tubular, sliowy, orange or 

 red calyx, lobes five to seven, crowned, with bright scarlet, or white 

 crumpled petals, lanceolate to obovate, equal in number to the sepals 

 and inserted between them. The stamens are numerous and are 

 inserted on the inner wall of the calyx tube. The ovary is embedded in 

 the calyx tube or receptacle and consists of seven to fifteen loeules in 

 two series, one above the other, ripening into a large, many-seeded 

 pome-like berry, crowned with a large persistent calyx. The flowers 

 are from one to one and one-half inches in length and the fruits 

 vary from three to six inches in diameter. The external portion of the 

 seedcoat becomes succulent, forming an arillus, and the arils comprise 

 the edible portion of the fruit. These range in color from white to a 

 bright crimson and are arranged in very irregular loculi, which are 



Fig. 49. — A, a good type of light fleshed pomegranate, a paper-shelled variety. The 

 rag is small in amount, the skin thin, and the seeds moderately large but soft and 

 edible. 



B, a good type of pomegranate. This fruit was cut open twenty-four days before 

 the photo was taken. Note the fresli appearance. The pomegranate is a remarkable 

 keeper. (Original.) 



separated by a thin astringent membrane. The rind of the fruit is 

 tough and leathery and varies in color from pale yellow to deep 

 purplish red. 



The plant is well adapted for hedges, having a strong tendency to 

 sucker from the roots and crown of the tree. By careful and persistent 

 pruning it may be trained into a small tree, sometimes reaching a height 

 of twenty feet. 



It is essentially a desert plant and is well adapted to standing long 

 periods of drought, but fruits little under these conditions. It may be 

 found still alive, not growing, but holding its own. on old abandoned 

 homesteads in the deserts of southern California and Arizona and, on 



