46 FRUIT. 



it from the plant, especially at an early age, 

 when all its parts are tender. 



Hence the difficulty of causing Peaches and 

 the like to stone^ or to pass over that age, in 

 which the vascular bundles that join them to 

 the branch become woody, and secure them to 

 their place. 



For the same reason they are fed almost 

 entirely by other parts, upon secreted matter 

 which they attract to themselves, elaborate, 

 and store up in the cavities of their tissue. 



The office of feeding such fruit is performed 

 by young branches, which transmit nutriment 

 to it through the bark. 



But as young branches can only transmit 

 nutriment downwards, it follows that unless a 

 fruit is formed on a part of a branch below a 

 leaf-bud, it must perish. 



Unless there is some active vegetation in the 

 stem above the branch on which it grows ; 

 when it may possibly live and feed upon secre- 

 tions attracted by it from the main stem ; thus 

 in pruning the peach and other trees with siqje- 

 rior fruit in the spring it is always necessary to 

 leave one or two leaf-buds above the flower-bud. 



But inferior fruit, consisting always of the 

 calyx in addition to the pistil, has a much 



