REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. CHAP. III. 



is composed of the united ovaries of only a single 

 flower ; while that of the Bread-fruit is composed 

 of the united ovaries of many flowers. 



Several other fruits, though not corresponding 

 exactly to the above definition or exceptions, are 

 regarded however by botanists as being also va- 

 rieties of the berry ; such particularly as those of 

 the Juniper and Yew-tree. In the former the 

 scales of the fertile catkin, which ultimately become 

 succulent, unite also together and form a globular 

 fruit, resembling a berry so much as to have ob- 

 tained the name. In the latter the calyx, or re- 

 ceptacle as it is generally believed to be, which is 

 at first a thin and scale-like substance, of a whitish 

 or greenish complexion, embracing merely the 

 base of the ovary, expands and enlarges into a 

 thick and pulpy envelope, of a bell-shaped figure, 

 and of a most beautiful red, investing the whole of 

 the ovary, except at the mouth or open extremity, 

 and giving the fruit the appearance of a berry, 

 as it is generally called ; though strictly speaking 

 it is more properly a nut than a berry, 

 pefini- ARTICLE 4. The Nut-shell. The nut-shell 

 (PL VI. Fig. 4.) is a pericarp of a hard and 

 bony texture, though sometimes crustaceous or 

 leathery, not opening spontaneously, or if opening 

 spontaneously, not into more than two valves. The 

 Filbert and Chesnut are well known examples ; the 

 former being an example of the hard and bony 

 shell, and the latter of the soft and leathery. la 



