MAY 81 



peach, but they are also cut off from the 

 rest of the fruit by a leathery case forming 

 the core. The bright white petals, touched 

 with pink, fall away with the passing of the 

 season, but the rest of the flower remains 

 dry and withered as the star of the apple, 

 opposite the stem. 



If any one ever feels inclined to eat the 

 core with the apple, I would suggest that 

 he examine this star end with a magnifying 

 glass. After he has seen the menagerie of 

 animal life that takes refuge there, I think 

 he will be willing thereafter to discard the 

 core. This is, of course, the only condition 

 on which the apple would insist if it could. 

 Its purpose in maturing all this rich pulp is 

 to persuade some animal for love of its fine 

 flavor to gather the fruit and eat the pulp. 

 But the leathery core is intended to deter 

 the animal from eating the seeds, which it 

 is hoped will be dropped in some new local- 

 ity, thus furnishing them with fresh soil 

 unexhausted by the growth of previous 

 apple-trees. This is Nature's method' of 

 securing her rotation of crops. 



