56 HOW TO KNOW WILD FRUITS 



does offer a liberal supply of pollen. The mass 

 of carpels at the center of the flower affords a 

 convenient landing place for the insect and a 

 substantial platform on which he may stand 

 while gathering the pollen stores, which are 

 yielded by the numerous stamens circled about. 

 During his harvesting the bee carries pollen 

 from one blossom to the receptive stigmas of 

 another, and accomplishes the cross fertilization 

 of the flower at the same time that he is gather- 

 ing material for his " bee bread." 



The fruit of the rose is peculiar to itself and 

 is known as a hip. It is considered by Gray 

 and by Britton and Brown to be a fleshy calyx 

 cup with a contracted mouth which incloses the 

 bony achenes. Kerner and Oliver consider the 

 hip as a hollow receptacle which contains carpels 

 that are entirely distinct from the wall of the 

 receptacle. The remnants of the styles remain 

 at the mouth of the hip, which may or may not 

 be surrounded by the calyx lobes. 



The fruits are eaten by birds and the seeds 

 scattered by them. Mice, too, are fond of the 

 hips but gnaw and destroy the seeds instead of 

 aiding in their dispersal. Some rose hips were 

 gathered from the bushes and scattered along 



