270 PRACTICAL COURSE IN BOTANY 



the relation between the color and size of fruits and their grouping. What 

 advantage is it for sumac and bird haws to be gathered in large clusters ? 



2. Compare wild with cultivated fruits and notice in what respects man 

 has altered the latter for his own benefit. Note, for instance,, the differ- 

 ence between cultivated apples and the wild crab, between the cultivated 

 grains and wild grasses. Observe the great number of varieties of each 

 kind in cultivation and try to account for it. 



3. Notice the situations in which different kinds of fruits grow, whether 

 hot, dry, moist, windy, or sheltered, and how they are affected by their 

 surroundings. For example, account for the difference between black- 

 berries growing on a dry hillside, and those in moist land along the borders 

 of a stream. Give the conclusions drawn from your observations in each 

 case. 



4. Notice what animals feed upon the different kinds, and whether their 

 visits are harmful or beneficial. Consider in what respects the interests 

 of the plant itself, the interests of man, and the interests of other animals 

 may clash or coincide. Examine the vegetation along the hedgerows and 

 borders of fields and old fences. Notice the kind of plants that compose 

 it — sumac, sassafras, cedars, cat brier, etc. The list will be slightly 

 different for different localities, but this will not alter the general conclu- 

 sion. What kinds of fruits and seeds do these shrubs produce? What 

 kinds of living creatures frequent hedgerows and feed upon the seeds of 

 such plants ? Do you see any relation between these facts and one of the 

 modes of seed dispersal ? 



5. Classify all the fruits you have collected during your walk, under their 

 proper heads, as fleshj^ or dry, dehiscent or indehiscent, simple, accessory, 

 aggregate, collective. Be careful to distinguish between compact clusters, 

 like the heads of clematis or buttonwood, and truly compound fruits. 



