rUTfT 221 



arc croudccl to^ctlicr on the flower stalk, but as 

 time ^oes on they coalesce and fuse, with their 

 ovaries, bracts, and receptacles, into a succulent 

 mass, the various parts of which can be well defined 

 if we cut a section through a pineapple before it 

 is quite ripe. 



This chapter may fittingly conclude with a brief 

 reference to the ultimate purpose of these varied 

 forms and textures of fruit, for that they each have 

 their special work, and that there is a meaning" for 

 every form, is a truism we may accept without 

 doubt. The fruit is in reality the storehouse for 

 the seeds, the latter bein*^ the vital part of the 

 plant. If we review the life-history of a plant, 

 first its producing flowers, then the special and 

 intricate processes of pollinaticjn and fertilisation, 

 and subsequentl)' the growth of that wonderful 

 little i^art, the ovule, into a seed, and further if we 

 reflect that the whole strength of the plant has 

 been concentrated on producing that seed, we 

 shall then comprehend the true significance of 

 fruit. 



The seed is first stored up in the recesses of the 

 ovary ; clearly then the ovary, which subsequently 



