INTRODUCTION. FERTILIZA TlON. t 9 



more so, indeed, numbers of persons do not see the flowers of this tree, though there 

 may be thousands within their reach. The reason of this is because they are inside the 

 fleshy receptacle known as the fruit, but the real fruits are the seeds, and each of the 

 thousands has its separate flower. It may be mentioned incidentally, for the information 

 of the inexperienced and though the statement may be strange to them it is, all the 

 same, true that both the fig and the mulberry belong to the nettle family of plants 

 (Urticacca)) as do the deadly upas tree (Antiaris) of Java, and the important bread- 

 fruit tree (Artocarpus) of the South Sea Islands. The facts are mentioned for showing 

 that there is a wide field in which young gardeners may study for gaining knowledge 

 on the subject of fruit. Why there should be such remarkable differences in the 

 flowers of fruit trees is not known, but the colour of one, the perfume of another, and 

 the secretions of a third are doubtless adaptations of attraction to different insects, 

 which visit the flowers and convey the pollen from one to the other for the purpose of 

 fertilisation and the production of seed or fruit. How this is accomplished should be 

 known to all growers of fruit, for when the work is conducted under artificial conditions, 

 as it is to an extraordinary extent, and will be much more so in future, the information 

 cannot fail to be of substantial value to cultivators. 



Most of the fruits grown in our gardens belong to the Eose Order of plants (Eosaceoe), 

 inasmuch as the flowers of all possess the same essential characters as those in the wild 

 rose. The flower may differ in size and colour, but structurally, as in the number of 

 petals (five), calyx and stamens, they are similar. But the character of the fruit 

 is also taken into account and therefore sub-orders arc formed, such as Pomese, 

 which includes the apple, pear, medlar and quince ; and Amygdalerc, which includes 

 the plum, peach, cherry, and almond. It is not necessary, however, to pursue the 

 subject minutely, the main object being to indicate the system of grouping, and all 

 further information that may be needed can be found in botanical works. In the Eose 

 Order the flowers are generally hermaphrodite, having stamens and pistils in the same 

 flower, and it is only by the transference of pollen from the anthers of the former to 

 the glutinous stigma of the latter that fertile seed can be produced, though the fleshy 

 receptacle containing it occasionally develops in the absence of fertilisation, as may be seen 

 in cucumbers, stoneless grapes, and also in some larger fruits ; but, generally, fertilisation 

 is advantageous, resulting in finer fruits, and in those which form stones for enveloping 

 a seed or kernel, it seems essential. It is known also that some varieties of grapes will 

 not set and swell their berries in the absence of artificial aids to fructification. In 



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