FRUITS 



257 



spot at which the seeds are attached to the carpels, and 

 label this point, placenta. Notice whether it is in the axis 

 where the carpels all meet at their inner edges, or on the 

 outer side. Observe, also, whether the seed is attached to 

 the placenta by its big or its little end. If you can find a 

 tiny thread that attaches the seed to the carpel; label it, seed 

 stalk. Fruits of this kind are classed, botanically, as pomes. 

 Write, from your analysis, a definition of the pome. 



289, Modifications of the receptacle. — Compare with the 

 drawings you have made, a haw and a hip. What points of 

 agreement do you see ? What dif- 

 ferences ? Which of the two more 

 closely resembles the typical pome ? 

 The receptacle is subject to a va- 

 riety of modifications, and forms a 

 part of many fruits, for example, 

 the fig, lotus, and calycanthus 

 (Figs. 370, 371) ; but a fruit is not 

 a pome unless the containing re- 

 ceptacle becomes more or less soft 

 and edible. 



290. The pepo, or melon. — Next 

 examine a gourd, cucumber, squash, 

 or any kind of melon, and compare its blossom end with that 

 of the apple or pear. Do you find any remains of a calyx, 

 or other part of the flower ? Examine the peduncle and ob- 

 serve how the fruit is attached to it. Can you tell what 

 made the outer epidermis of the rind? Put a small piece 

 under the microscope ; do you see any stomata, or lenticels ? 

 Cut cross and vertical sections, and sketch them, labeling 

 each part. There may be some difficulty in making out the 

 carpels, for they are not separate and distinct as in the pome, 

 but confluent with the enlarged receptacle, which in these 

 fruits forms the outer portion of the rind, and also with each 

 other at their edges, so as to form one unbroken circle, as if 

 they had all grown together. And this is precisely what 



370 



Fk 



371 

 370, 371. — Enlarged 



receptacle of Carolina allspice 

 {Calycanthus), containing fruits 

 attached to its inner surface : 

 370, exterior ; 371, vertical sec- 

 tion. 



