OVARY. 41 



Other receptacles of secretion, called mttcB (vitta, a 

 band), occur in the wall (pericarp) of the fruit of the 

 Umbelliferae, or Parsley Order of plants, and their 

 arrangement forms characters for distinguishing the 

 genera. They may be well seen in caraway- seeds ; 

 for the caraway-plant is one of the Umbelliferse. It 

 must be observed that a caraway " seed " is not really 

 a seed, but consists of half the fruit ; for, on careful 

 examination, one side of it will be found to be flat- 

 tened, the flattening resulting from the mutual pres- 

 sure of the two half-fruits at that part ; moreover the 

 dried style exists at its summit. In the figure (PL I. 

 fig. 19), the flattened part of the seed is next the ob- 

 server. The seed has five evident longitudinal ridges, 

 one at each corner or angle. The vittse are dark- 

 coloured (fig. 19 a), and placed one between each pair 

 of these ridges ; and they consist of long flattened 

 spaces in the substance of the pericarp, with trans- 

 verse markings, indicating internal cross partitions, 

 In botanical works, the presence of five ridges, with 

 single vittse in the intervals, is given as a character 

 by which the half-fruits (carpels) of the caraway are 

 to be distinguished. But on closely inspecting the 

 flattened surface, another ridge is seen running down 

 its middle ; so that the seed really has six ridges, one 

 of which is smaller than the rest from the pressure of 

 the other half. Hence the character of five ridges 

 with single vittse is incorrect. 



The vittse contain the volatile oil to which the 

 fragrance and pungency of the fruit is owing, although 

 some of the oil exists also in the cells of the kernel or 

 albumen, which forms the white and greater part of 

 the seed. 



The skin of a reddish apple, peeled off in the 

 manner described for petals, exhibits beautifully the 

 red colouring matter of different tints in adjacent 

 cells, while the pulp displays the cell-contents, as 

 already mentioned. The latter may also be easily 



