THE ROSE TRIBE. 109 



You will almost woiulor, now that you know how 

 the young flower of a Strawberry is constructed, how 

 so singular a fruit is to be formed out of such mate- 

 rials ; especially if you should have chanced to meet 

 Avith the ingenious explanation given of it by some Bo- 

 tanist, whose name I forget, that it is a herry with its 

 seeds on its outside. Many and strange are often the 

 changes that take place in the organization of a pistil 

 in the course of its transformation into a fruit : and 

 they are highly curious in this case. If you would 

 really understand them, you should watch the Straw- 

 berry in the progress of its growth. You W'Ould then 

 see that the first occurrence after the petals have fal- 

 len off, and the calyx closed on the tender fruit, con- 

 sists in the receptacle of the carpels beginning to 

 swell ; and, shortly after, in the carpels themselves 

 gaining a greater size and a more shining appear- 

 ance; while, at the same time, their styles begin to 

 shrivel up. At a more advanced stage, the carpels 

 are found but little aug'mented in size, while the re- 

 ceptacle has increased so very much in dimensions, 

 that the carpels are beginning to be separated by it, 

 and the surface of the receptacle can be distinctly 

 seen between them. A little older, and the carpels 

 seem scattered, in an irregular manner, over the sur- 

 face of the receptacle, which has become soft and 

 juicv, while they have remained almost stationary in 

 size. All along, the swelling receptacle has been 

 pushing the calyx aside, as being no longer of use 

 to it ; and, at last, you scarcely remark the calyx, 

 in consequence of the much greater size of the re- 



