BERRIES AND BERRIES. 89 



botanical study. It shows how similar causes 

 may produce the same gross result in singu- 

 larly different ways. Both are roses by 

 family, and both have flowers essentially 

 similar to that of the common dog-rose. But 

 even in plants where the flowers are alike, the 

 fruits often differ conspicuously, because fresh 

 principles come into play for the dispersion 

 and safe germination of the seed. This makes 

 the study of fruits the most complicated part 

 in the unravelling of plant life. After the 

 strawberry has blossomed, the pulpy recep- 

 tacle on which it bore its green fruitlets begins 

 to swell and redden, till at length it grows 

 into an edible berry, dotted with little yellow 

 nuts, containing each a single seed. But in 

 the raspberry it is the separate fruitlets them- 

 selves which grow soft and bright-coloured, 

 while the receptacle remains white and taste- 

 less, forming the 'hull' which we pull off 

 from the berry when we are going to eat it. 

 Thus the part of the raspberry which we 

 throw away answers to the part of the straw- 



