234 ON FRUIT. 



Secondly. Those formed by several carpels, the pro- 

 duce of a single flower, like the paeony and the raspberry. 



Thirdly. Those formed of several carpels, surrounded 

 by and soldered with the calyx, such as the apple and the 

 pear. 



Fourthly. Those formed by the aggregation of several 

 fruits produced by different flowers. 



Mrs. B. Your enumeration is perfectly correct. I will 

 give you some further examples of the latter description. 

 The cone of a pine or fir tree consists of an aggregation 

 of fruits, produced by as many different flowers, having 

 each a single seed : these flowers are separated from each 

 other by bractae, which. remain after flowering : they grow 

 tough and hard, and enclose each of the fruits as it were 

 in a case, the aggregation of which forms the fir-cone. 



Emily. This is a kind of fruit quite new to us ; and 

 the cone of the magnolia is, I suppose, of the same de- 

 scription. 



Mrs. B. No ; the cone of the magnolia proceeds from 

 several carpels belonging to the same flower. The differ- 

 ence is very difficult to distinguish after the blossom is 

 over, and the fruit formed ; but is easily observed if the 

 history of the fruit is traced from the period of blossoming. 



Caroline. It seems to me to be very difficult to avoid 

 error on so complicated a subject. 



Mrs. B. I cannot deny it ; and I will give you another 

 instance of deceitful resemblance. Few things bear a 

 greater likeness to each other than the Spanish chesnut 

 (castanea vesca) and the horse chesnut (cesculus hippocas- 

 tanum;) yet the horse-chesnut is simply a seed, while the 

 Spanish chesnut is a fruit, consisting of two or more seeds, 

 each of which has its separate envelope, under the form 

 of a reddish-brown skin. The shell of the horse-chesnut 

 is a capsule produced by a single flower. The prickly 

 covering of the Spanish chesnut is an involucrum, which 

 surrounded the several flowers. You see, therefore, that 

 it is very difficult to decide upon the nature of the fruit 

 without having studied the flowers whence it derives its 

 origin. 



1278. What is the second'? 1279. What is the third 1 1280. 

 What is the fourth 1 ? 1281. What is said of the cone of a pine or fir 

 treel 1282. And of the cone of the magnolia 1 ? 1283. What other 

 instance of deceitful resemblance does Mrs. B. mention 1 ? 1284. What 

 is said of the shell of the horse chesnut and the prickly covering of the 

 Spanish chesnut'? 



