38 IHE SEED. 



superinduced. The most extraordinary is the enormous accumulation 

 of juice, and sugar, or acid, or starch, or oil, or whatever else forms 

 the special characteristic of the fruit when perfected. The component 

 cells of the fi-uit are called the " carpels," and the part to which th& 

 seeds are attached is named the " placenta." When the carpels 

 stand apart from one another, they are said to be " free." 



Three principal classes of fruits have been distinguished, named 

 and characterised as follows : — 



Simple fruits. — These come of a solitary pistil, the ovary of which 



consisted of a single cell, as in the pea. 

 Collective fruits. — These include such as originate in numerous 

 pistils standing side by side, but free and independent. The 

 Buttercup-family furnishes numerous fine examples. 

 Compound fruits. — These, the most numerous, originate in ovaries 

 formed of many cells united together, as in the poppy and the 

 apple, the "core" of which discloses the five carpels. 



Each of the above classes contains many varieties, the total being 

 about forty, and the following the most important : — 



The capsule,— a dry box, containing seeds more or less loose and 

 numerous, as in the poppy-head. 



The berry, — exemplified in the grape and cm-rant. 



The apple-form, or " pome," — as in the apple, pear, and quince. 



The one-celled pod, or "legume," — as in peas and beans. 



The double pod, or "silique," — as in the Cabbage -family. 



The plum-like fruit, or " drupe," — as in the plum, cherry, almond, 

 and walnut. 



The grain, or " achenium," — resembling a little seed, as in wheat, 

 and the strawberry, the juicy pyramid of which fruit is only 

 the " receptacle." In the raspberry, the achenia are juicy, 

 and the receptacle is the dry part ; while in compound flowers 

 they arc often surmounted by a wing. 



The nut, — as in acorns and filberts. 



The cone, — produced by fir-trees. 



The " hespcridium," — as in the orange and lemon. 



The " sorosis," — as in the pine-apple. 



The contents of the fruit are the Seeds, which on being sown in the 

 ground, and exposed to the action of moisture, warmth, and air, ger- 

 minate or grow, and produce new ])lants similar to the one that 



