I] 



SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR FRUITS 



9 



near its apex ; but the acorn and Wheat-grain are 

 indehiscent which is one reason why people so often 

 regard them as seeds, though a glance through the lens 

 shows the stigmas or their scars at their tips. 



Another excellent character for determining fruits 

 exists in their positions as regards the stamens, petals, &c. 

 Contrast the fruits of an Apple (Fig. 6, A), an Iris and a 

 Gooseberry, with those of an Orange, Lily, and a Cherry 

 or Blackthorn, for instance. In the former the scars or 

 remains of sepals, petals, stamens and style can be seen 

 with a lens at the apex of each fruit clearly the fruit 



Fig. 6. Apple, inferior fruit. A, cut lengthwise and showing the 

 epigynous calyx (k) ; B, cut transversely (E and P). 



is inferior, a point rendered still more decided if their 

 flowers and ovaries are compared side by side with the 

 fruits : in the latter, however, we may find the scar or 

 remains of the style at the apex, but those of the stamens, 

 petals, &c. are at the base, next the stalk clearly these 

 fruits are superior, and we shall find that these relations 

 of position (in the main those of the gyncecium in each 

 case) are valuable aids to determining fruits, as they are 

 in distinguishing ovaries. 



One more point. The walls of the carpels or ovary 

 composed of carpels, frequently undergo great changes in 



