CHAPTER IV. 

 THE FLOWERS AND FRUITS. 



IK the higher plants the flower is the expanded fruit- 

 bud and is the organ of reproduction. A few plants 

 under culture like the horseradish multiply rapidly by 

 root extension, and nearly all plants can be propagated in 

 other ways than from seed. Yet the flower in fruit- and 

 nut-growing must precede the fruit. 



32. Parts of the Flower. A knowledge of the parts of 

 the flower is needed by the modern strawberry- and grape- 

 grower. It is also needed in crossing and in working with 

 dioecious plants and trees. It is essential, too, in detect- 

 ing varieties such as many of the plums that ripen the 

 pistils before the pollen of that flower or tree is ready for 

 their pollination. 



The parts of flowers of different species vary materially. 

 But the horticulturist who makes a brief study of the 

 divided cherry-blossom in Fig. 13 will recognize the corre- 

 sponding parts in the pea and most cultivated plants. 

 The green part at the base marked ( (?) is the calyx. This 

 is usually green in fruits. But in the tulip and other 

 flowers it is colored. 



The prominent organ rising in the centre marked (P) 

 h the pistil with the ovary at the base. The flattened 

 enlargement at the top is the stigma and the connecting 

 slender part is the style. Some of the fruits have more 



32 



