172 JBotans 



denying it to the harmful and unsightly. Nature 

 differs with us here, molding and maturing with the 

 earnest care the fruits of her unbeautiful children, 

 which we style weeds. Let us courageously follow 

 both science and nature, looking at fruit in its widest 

 sense. 



Fruits are divided into three classes : I. Fleshy ; 

 as berries, pears, gourds, melons, grapes, apples. 

 II. Stony (drupaceous) ; having a stone or pit, as 

 peaches, plums, cherries. III. Dry ; as nuts,, peas, 

 beans, grains. 



Among the dry fruits we find that abundant nut, 

 so singular in its manner of growth, joy of the Ameri- 

 can boy's heart — the peanut. This low-groAving vine- 

 like plant bears small yellow blossoms, shaped like 

 bean flowers. The calyx is very long, and the germ 

 with the ovules lies at its bottom. The style of the 

 l^istil is also long. When the flower has dried and 

 dropped away we see the ovary expanded to a pod 

 with from one to three seeds in it ; this is borne on 

 the tip of a flower-stalk, which at once begins to 

 grow rapidly, bending toward the earth. This stalk 

 bears the several pods of the flower cluster, and as if 

 pressed to the earth by their weight, touches the 

 ground and begins to push into it, burying the pods. 

 When some few inches under the soil the pods 

 harden, becoming woody, and the seeds mature. 



