THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



Fig. 1531.- (Fi us carica). A, flowering branch ; 

 B, female flower ; C, male flower ; D, mature in 

 longitudinal section. 



In the last fruit to be dealt with here, 

 the fig, we have the same parts present 

 as in the pine apple, only their arrange- 

 ment is different. In the fig, the plant 

 stem instead of being solid, giving off 

 flowers outwardly as in the pine apple 

 and the mulberry, is urnshaped, giving 

 off flowers inwardly, as seen in Fig. 1 531 D 

 The urn of the fig is outwardly nearly 

 likethatoftherose, Fig. 1527 E\ but the 



urn of the rose gives off only pistils, 

 while that of the fig gives off flowers and 

 rudimentary leaves. 



Thus it is seen that fruits arise from 

 the development of various parts present 

 in the flower ; that the parts of the flower 

 all arise as little tongue-like out-growths 

 from a plant stem ; that in the ripe fruits, 

 we have in the grape, cherry, plum and 

 peach only the pistil of the flower ; in 

 the apple, pear, quince and others, the 

 pistil with a thick stem part outside ; in 

 the raspberry, a hollow dome composed 

 of many pistils ; in the blackberry, a 

 central stem bearing many succulent pis- 

 tils ; in the strawberry, a succulent stem 

 bearing dry pistils ; in the mulberry, a 

 thin central stem bearing many lateral 

 flowers, all of whose parts become suc- 

 culent and remain in the fruit ; in the 

 pine apple and fig, a complex of pistils, 

 stamens, corollas, calyxes, leaves, and 

 stems. 



NEATER PACKAGES FOR FRUIT. 



There is a needed tendency toward 

 smaller and neater packages for fruits. 

 In addition to getting nearer the wants 

 of the consumer, the fruits are not sub- 

 ject to the injury they are exposed to in 

 large packages, where the ripe are crush- 

 ed by the greener ones. A light attrac- 

 tive package helps to no small extent in 

 the sale of the contents. The cost of 

 the packages is no longer a big expense. 

 The decline has kept pace with the de- 

 cline in values of fruit, and new and im- 

 proved machinery insures still lower 

 prices for many of the packages necessary. 



Conceding that the grower has done 



his duty so far in raising, picking and 

 packing the fruit, the next step is the 

 best market, and last, but not least, the 

 firm selected to ship to. The alluring 

 and neatly worded circulars have led 

 many shippers astray. Big figures, too, 

 often prove a bait that many cannot re- 

 sist. Every big market has plenty of 

 firms who are entirely satisfied with their 

 legitimate commissions, to whom the 

 grower can ship without assuming any 

 risk. Beware of the big, windy circulars 

 that promise everything, and the firms 

 that send them out. — Proceedings of 

 American Pomological Society. 



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