34 HORTICULTURAL MANUAL. 



The superior fruits, such as strawberry, raspberry, peach, 

 plum, apricot, cherry, grape, and fig, are more exposed 

 when in flower to frosts, dry air, and other weather 

 changes, and the ovary of the fruit-bud is more liable to 

 be injured in winter, than the inferior class protected by 

 the base of the calyx. 



It is also true, as a rule, that the fruits that form above 

 the calyx are not as well fed as those below it, as the con- 



FIG. 14. Divided flower of the apple. 



nection with the leaves is not as direct. But in this 

 varieties differ. As instances, some varieties of the 

 cherries and plums develop perfect leaflets at the flower- 

 clusters by the time the flowers are opening, while other 

 varieties blossom in advance of the leaves. In the prairie 

 States those that develop leaves and flowers together are 

 more certain to bear regular crops. 



34. Monoecious and Dioecious Flowers. When the 

 stamen-bearing and pistil-bearing flowers are on separate 

 trees or plants they are classed as dioecious. Examples of 

 this class are found in the date, box-elder, and buffalo- 

 berry. Where the staminate and pistillate flowers are 

 separated, but on the same tree or plant, they are classed 

 as monoecious, such as chestnut, oak, and walnut. Polyg- 

 amous plants are those having both perfect flowers and 

 those of one sex on the same or on different individuals, 

 such as the red maple, hackberry, and elm. 



