142 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



If the reader will take an apple — a rotten one is best — and cut it through 

 from flower-sear to stem, he will find a core of five carpels, and about 

 midway between the core and the rind he will see a green, fibrous 

 line (Fig. 9). If he will look now at the flower, he will find the cup 

 or calyx of five sepals, the corolla of five petals, the stamens many 

 (a number of whorls), and the pistils five (one whorl). We have shown 

 that these floral organs are simply transformed leaves, and we shall 

 now see that the apple itself is merely these leaf-whorls still further 

 transformed. 



Let us cut the apple through around the equator and compare our 

 section (Fig. 10) with the longitudinal one (Fig. 9). Looking at the 

 flower-scar, we see the remnants of the sepals, c?, f?, d. Within and 

 alternating with these are remnants of the petals, c, c. Still farther 

 wdthin is a little shred of a pistil, h. This shred can be traced down 

 into the core, a. The other parts of the flower lose themselves in the 

 fleshy fruit. 



If we look now at the other section (Fig. 10), we shall see, on that 

 fibrous line, ten greenish points, five opposite to the carpels and five 

 alternating with them. Five other little points appear near the tips 

 of the carpels and in line with them. Now, this fibrous line, and the 

 points on it and within it, must bear some relation to the plan of the 

 flow^er. And, as the stamens are a multiple of five, the points must 

 have some relation to the staminate whorls. The core, as Ave see 

 (Fig. 9), is continuous with the pistil. It is simply the base of the 



Fig. 11. 

 Fig. 10. 



Cross-Section of Apple, showing the Car- Section op the Kittanning Apple, a, 

 PELS AND Fibrous Points. cavity which takes the place of the car- 



pels ; /, fibrous line. 



pistillate whorl. The part of the fruit between the core and the dot- 

 ted line represents the thickened and coalesced whorls of stamens and 

 petals.' The fruit between this dotted line and the fibrous line repre- 

 sents the thickened petals. The fibrous line represents the union of 



1 This line is not found in the fruit. It is ideal. 



