THE FRUIT 



77 



brush; the color of the brush is often a fine mark of distinction. 

 The color of the juice is a plain and certain characteristic of 

 some species and varieties. Thinness, thickness, flavor, and 

 color of pigment in the skin have more or less value as marks 

 of identification. Flavor and aroma of flesh are, as in all fruits, 

 very distinctive but most difficult to define. All species and 

 varieties are well distinguished by the time of ripening, and by 

 the keeping quality of the fruit. 



In no other fruits are the seeds so 

 important in determining species and 

 varieties as in the grape. The size 

 and weight of seed differ greatly in 

 species and varieties. Thus, of na- 

 tive grapes, V. Labrusca has the 

 largest seeds, while those of V. vul- 

 pina are smallest. The shape and 

 color of seeds offer very plain distin- 

 guishing marks. The size, shape, and 

 position of the several distinct parts 

 of a grape seed furnish very certain 

 marks of recognition of several spe- 

 cies. These parts are : the narrow 



prolonged base of the seed is called the beak (Fig. 41) ; the scar 

 left where the seed was attached to the seedstalk is the hilum; 

 the place where the seed-coats and kernel are connected is the 

 chalaza; the line or ridge which runs from the hilum to the 

 chalaza is the raphe. 



117. Fruits and seeds of gooseberries and currants. — Goose- 

 berries and black currants are usually recognizable from the 

 appearance and taste of the fruits, but it is rather difficult to 

 separate red currants by means of fruit characters. European 

 gooseberries are much larger than those grown from American 

 species, and may be told from them by their greater size. Varie- 

 ties of all species of gooseberries have distinctive shapes, colors, 

 and flavors; some are smooth, others pubescent, and the texture 

 and juiciness of flesh at time of ripening vary greatly. Varie- 

 ties of black currants bear fruits of different sizes and each sort 

 has a taste and odor by which it usually may be recognized. 

 Size of fruit is helpful in distinguishing species of red currants, 



Fig. 42. High blueberry 



