36 PLANT LIFE. 



and the indigestible seeds are afterwards dropped, 

 perhaps several miles away. It therefore appears 

 that the colours, sugars and fruit jellies, which involve, 

 of course, a great sacrifice of material on the part of 

 the plant, are produced for the sake of colonisation. 

 Fleshy fruits are an excellent example of the care 

 displayed by the vegetable world for emigration. This 

 is a fact of which the modifications described in this 

 chapter afford indisputable proof 



These brilliant colours are not developed till the fruit 

 is ripe. Young fruits remain green, and are not easily 

 distinguished from the leaves until the seed is mature ; 

 and both the colour and sugary material appear 

 together. It is obviously not intended that animals 

 should eat the flesh until the seeds are ready for 

 scattering. For this reason also fruits when young are 

 placed below the leaves, and are often hidden by them. 

 These immature fruits are generally sour, and are often 

 decidedly injurious, in this way forming a protection for 

 the seed till it is ready to be scattered. 



An Orange is an excellent example of a fleshy fruit, 

 and gives a distinct idea of the different modifications 

 which are to be expected in this particular class. The 

 peel, besides colouring matter, contains a number of 

 little brownish oil glands, which can be seen scattered all 

 over the surface. The oil is bitter and acrid, and, 

 though it is agreeable to the peculiar taste of mankind 

 in the form of marmalade, it is no doubt most distaste- 

 ful to wasps or small insects, which might force their 

 way through the skin to attack the juicy parts within. 

 If they did so, the sugar would be eaten and the fruit 

 spoiled. Moreover, through the openings made by them, 

 bacteria and fungus spores would enter ; and the result 

 would be a rapid decay of the fruit, which neither bird nor 



