ON FRUIT. 



also enter into the composition of the flesh, together with 

 a portion of the pericarp. The heart, or core of the pome, 

 consists of the endocarps of five carpels, each containing 

 two seeds or pips. 



Emily. The orange has no eye; otherwise I should 

 have thought it had been a fruit of a similar construction. 



Mrs. B. Far from it : the orange is a pulpy, not a 

 fleshy fruit, like the point or the drupe. Now pulp does 

 riot, like flesh, result from the growth of the mesocarp, 

 but is a peculiar succulent substance, situated inside of 

 the carpels : those of the orange consist of the quarters 

 into which the fruit may be easily divided when the rind 

 is pealed off, and the seeds are imbedded in the pulp con- 

 tained within them. 



Caroline. True: they are not lodged in a core, like 

 the apple or the pear; nor in a shell or nut, like the peach 

 or the plum. But might not a fruit have both flesh and 

 pulp ? 



Mrs. B. Yes ; the quince is an instance of this com- 

 bination : the flesh is, like that of the pear, situated out- 

 side the core or cells containing the seeds, and within 

 those cells the quince contains pulp ; but this species of 

 complication is not common. 



Caroline. And pray, under what head do you class 

 those fruits in which the seeds are promiscuously situated, 

 such as the gooseberry, the currant, and the grape ? 



Mrs. B. They are distinguished by the name of Bac- 

 ca, or berry : in these the mesocarp is soft and succulent. 

 Although the seeds are attached to the endocarp, yet the 

 latter is obliterated when the fruit is ripe. A strawberry 

 is not properly so called, because it does not belong to 

 the class of berries. It consists of a fles.hy substance, 

 formed by the expansion of the summit of the peduncu- 

 lus, in which the several parts of the flower are inserted, 

 and which we have called the torus. The small grains 

 which you see upon its surface are so many little carpels, 

 each of which contains a seed. 



Caroline. They are so small and dry that they look 

 like naked seeds. 



1268. Of what does the heart, or core of the comb consist*? 1269. 

 What is said of the orange! 1270. And of the quince? 1271. 

 Under what head are classed the gooseberry, the currant, and the grape, 

 and what is said of them! 1272. What is said of the strawberry! 



