390 ELEMENTARY STUDIES IN BOTANY 



Pruning has also come to be a fine art, and when done 

 properly, a little every year, there is a larger yield ; and when 

 to this there is ad'ded an intelligent thinning of the develop- 

 ing fruit, the quality is improved. 



95. Apple. The apple is the most important pome 

 fruit, having been cultivated from very ancient times. It 

 is a native of southwestern Asia and adjacent Europe, but 

 is now under cultivation in all countries. All of the differ- 

 ent kinds of apples, which number about 1000 on sale in 



; * 



FIG. 64. Longitudinal and cross-sections of apple, showing the "five-celled" ovary 

 (core) imbedded in the fleshy cup of the calyx. 



any year, have been derived from two wild species, one of 

 which has given rise to the ordinary apples, the other to the 

 crab apples. The enormous number of varieties makes it 

 possible to select for each area those best adapted for it, 

 and this information is perhaps best obtained from the various 

 state horticultural societies. 



In the United States and Canada there are several notable 

 areas of apple cultivation, and new ones are being developed 

 rapidly. What has long been regarded as the finest apple 

 region in productiveness, quality, and good keeping is the 

 region extending from the Great Lakes eastward to Nova 



