80 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN 



mental woody plants. As interest and knowledge in- 

 crease the intrinsic value of Arboreta will become ap- 

 parent and the educational import of such institutions 

 will receive its proper recognition from a discerning 

 public who will duly appreciate the advantages de- 

 rived from the experimental testing of the hardiness, 

 adaptability, and ornamental qualities of all the avail- 

 able material which has been culled from the utter- 

 most parts of the world. 



Every flowering plant produces fruit, and in char- 

 acter and form the variety is infinite. In this chap- 

 ter we are only concerned with such hardy woody 

 plants as bear succulent fruits all of which on ripening 

 assume more or less brilliant colors. In the develop- 

 ment of the flower and in the perfecting of the fruit 

 Nature's objective is definite. It may be set forth as 

 an axiom that in the diversity of form among flowers 

 Nature's endeavor is mainly to insure their fertiliza- 

 tion through the agency of the insect world : in the per- 

 fecting of the succulent fruit it is toward making it 

 attractive to birds so as to insure through their agency 

 the dispersal of the seeds. Dame Nature is prodigal, 

 but although she apparently cares nothing for the in- 

 dividual she lavishes endeavor on securing the perpet- 

 uation of the species and the safety of the race. 



This cooperation invoked by Nature opens up 



