The Fruit and the Seed. 



101 



nate)) and pistil-bearing {pistillate (pis'-til-latej) flowers, 

 are both produced on the same plant, and dioecious when 

 produced on different plants only, as in the hop and date. 

 In a few plants, as the strawberry (155) and asparagus,, 

 some Individuals produce perfect, and some imperfect 

 flowers. 



155. Planting with Reference to Pollination is important 

 in certain plants. All dioecious plants (154j intended 

 for seed or fruit naust have staminate and pistillate plants 

 growing near together or they will not be productive. 

 The hop plant and date palm are of this class. 



The flowers of many 

 of our most productive 

 varieties of strawberry 

 yield little or no pollen 

 and are unproductive, 

 unless growing near 

 pollen-bearing sorts 

 (Pigs. 56, 57). In many 

 varieties of American 

 plums and in certain 

 varieties of the pear, 

 the pollen, even though 

 produced freely, is infertile on stigmas of the same 

 variety. To insure fecundation, it is loise to mingle varie- 

 ties in fruit plantations rather than to plant large blocks of a 

 single variety. 



Section XI. The Frxjit and the Seed 



156. The Fruit, as the term is used in botany, is the 

 mature ovary with its contents and adherent parts; it 

 may be hard and dry, as in the wheat and bean, or soft 



Fig. 56. Fig. .57. 



Fig. bQ. Imperfect flower of the straw- 

 berry. 



Fig. .57. Perfect flower of same. The 

 numerous pistils appear in a circular 

 mass at the center, around which the 

 stamens are seen in Fig. 57. 



