3i8 



BOTANY OF CROP PLANTS 



stamens are of the same number as petals, and are usually 

 included, and attached to the perianth. The inferior ovary 

 is one-celled with two parietal placentae, each bearing 

 numerous ovules; two more or less united styles are present. 



Pollination. — Gooseberries and currants are cross-polli- 

 nated, for the most part. Insects are the chief agents in 

 pollination. 



The Matiure Fruit. — The fruit of the currant and goose- 

 berry has been regarded as a berry; that is, a true fruit 



vascular bundle 

 Of receptacle 



vascular bundle 

 <^ carpel 



ovu/e cavity 

 ^placenta. 



Fig. 130. — Diagrammatic cross-section of Ribes flower prior to fertiliza- 

 tion. Note that carpel tissue is surrounded by receptacle tissue, as is evi- 

 denced by the two distinct sets of vascular bundles. The fleshy part of the 

 Ribes fruit is thus seen to be composed of receptacle tissue for the most part ; 

 hence the fruit is not a berry, morphologically, but rather pome-like. (Dia- 

 gram from microscopic section and data furnished by E. J. Kraus.) 



possessing numerous seeds more or less imbedded in a fleshy 

 endocarp and mesocarp. Recent, unpublished work of 

 Kraus establishes the fact that the fruit is in reality pome- 

 like in its structure. A cross-section through the base of 

 the flower or through the fruit shows two distinct sets of 

 vascular bundles (Fig. 130), the outer belonging to the re- 



