160 REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. CHAP. III. 



so as to produce an explosion like the report of a 

 pistol. 



ARTICLE 2. The Pome. The pome (PL V. 

 Fig. 2.) is a pulpy or fleshy pericarp without 

 valves, but enclosing a capsule. It is exemplified 

 in the familiar case of the Apple, from the Latin 

 appellation, for which it has taken its name. It is 

 generally of a globular or oval figure, as in most 

 varieties of Apple ; but sometimes it is inversely 

 conical, as in many varieties of Pear. At the apex 

 it is marked with a small cavity surrounded by the 

 remains of the calyx, which is persistent, or in the 

 language of Ventenat, adherent, which cavity is by 

 botanists denominated the umbilicus, and by gar- 

 deners, the eye of the fruit. At the base there is 

 often also a small cavity formed by the expansion 

 of the pome around the insertion of the foot-stalk,, 

 which is not, I believe, designated by any proper 

 name ; but in the Pear the pome tapers down gradu- 

 ally to the point of insertion, and renders the cavity 

 less distinct. The enclosed capsule is a thin and 

 membranaceous substance, consisting for the most 

 part of five distinct cells. 



Defini- ARTICLE 3. The, Berry. The berry (PL VI. 

 Sificl Fig. 3.) is a soft and pulpy pericarp containing 

 tions. one or more seeds, but not separating into regular 

 valves, nor enclosing a capsule. It is exemplified 

 in the very familiar case of the Currant and Goose- 

 berry. It is not however always strictly succulent ; 

 for in the Ivy it is of a dry and mealy contexture, 



