214 GfJMPSES INTO PLA XT-LIFE 



home as a great prize ; I was not a little disap- 

 pointed when I learned that they were the 

 poisonous fruits of the deadly nightshade ; their 

 deceitful resemblance to plums, as well as the 

 berries of the woody nightshade to red currants, 

 make these two of our most dangerous native 

 plants. 



As offering very distinct contrasts to the above, 

 we may note the dry membranous fruits of many 

 of our forest-trees, the hard nuts of the hazel and 

 walnut and the leather)' husk of tlie chestnut. 

 Again, the shape of fruits is wondcrfull)' diversi- 

 fied. We have round and oval apples, plums, and 

 gooseberries ; the linear seed-pods of the cabbage, 

 cauliflower, wallflower, peas and beans, and other 

 plants in endless varieties of forms. 



There are contrasts again in the smooth surface 

 of some fruits and the hairy coats of others w here 

 the roughness is due to hooks, prickles and other 

 contrivances. How different, too, is the airy 

 pappus of the dandelion to those heav>' fruits 

 which drop like stones and are to be found lying 

 exactly beneath the branches where they have 

 ripened. 



