CHAPTER VII 



THE WORK OF FRUITS 



The first work of the fruit ^ is to convey nourish- 

 ment to the young seeds (ovules) and protect them 

 during their development. How great is the impor- 

 tance of the food supply to the seeds is shown by the 

 fact that there is never enough to develop all of them, 

 so that a fierce struggle ensues among them to deter- 

 mine which shall develop at the expense of the 

 others. You can see evidences of this struggle in 

 almost any young fruit you open. Almost from the 

 first, certain seeds take the lead and grow larger than 

 the others, and these are usually the ones which in the 

 end absorb all the nourishment from the others so that 

 the latter shrivel up and finally disappear. The strug- 

 gle among the individual fruits on the plant is just as 

 vigorous; many must perish in order that a few may 

 mature. It is often necessary to thin out the fruit in 

 an orchard several times in a season, so that the 

 ground under the trees is each time covered with fruit. ^ 



^ The word fruit as here used means any ripe (or ripening) ovary or seed- 

 case, with its contents and any other parts pertaining to it. 



2 In thinning, the grower proceeds on the assumption that the amount of 

 fruit (by weight) is much the same, whether thinning is practiced or not; but 

 by thinning he gets this in the form of fewer and larger fruits. Thinning 

 must be done with good judgment. 



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