Roses and Apples 38 
and general attention of the fruit-grower. It is 
the little wild Crabs (Pyrus malus) we have in 
mind, but, of course, even in cultivated fruits addi- 
tional size and richness are produced by the same 
means, guided and controlled by the = 
skill of the gardener. Why do not 
fruits develop sweetness and soft flesh 
until they are fully grown? Because 
that would defeat the object the tree 
has in producing fruit at all. It isan 
exhausting process, and it is a common 
experience for a tree to be all but barren 
the year after it has borne a good crop. As a tree—a 
mere matter of wood and leaves—it would probably 
be a finer specimen if its flowers failed several years 
in succession. The ripening of fruit does not take 
place until the contained seeds are fully formed, and 
then large ones like the Apple are easily detached 
from the tree, and drop to the ground. Here they 
are probably seen by some wandering mammal, 
which is attracted by the colour, and they are eaten 
—it may be by rabbits, pigs, donkeys, horses, or cows ; 
and then it would appear that the tree’s object had 
been completely frustrated, yet the exact converse is 
the fact. The carpels (core) are thin, and may be 
eaten and digested, but the seeds are wrapped up in 
thick leathery skin which is proof against the action 
of the digestive fluids for the short time they might 
remain in the eater’s stomach, and by the time they 
have passed through the creature’s intestines they 
may be several miles away from the parent tree. 
That is the object the tree had in surrounding the 
seed-vessels with an attractive flesh. The object of 
Section of Apple 
