BERRIES AND BERRIES. 91 



eaten together with the pulpy receptacle, so 

 does the raspberry procure the dispersion of 

 its soft and sugary fruitlets by getting them 

 eaten all by themselves. While the straw- 

 berry fruitlets retain throughout their dry 

 outer coating, in those of the raspberry the 

 external covering becomes fleshy and red, 

 but the inner seed has, notwithstanding, a 

 still harder shell than the tiny nuts of the 

 strawberry. Now, this is the secret of nine 

 fruits out of ten. They are really nuts, 

 which clothe themselves in an outer tunic of 

 sweet and beautifully coloured pulp. The 

 pulp, as it were, the plant gives in, as an in- 

 ducement to the friendly bird to swallow its 

 seed ; but the seed itself it protects by a hard 

 stone or shell, and often by poisonous or 

 bitter juices within. We see this arrange- 

 ment very conspicuously in a plum, or still 

 better in a mango ; though it is really just as 

 evident in the raspberry, where the smaller 

 size renders it less conspicuous to human 

 sight. 



