VIII. 



SEEDLESS FEUITS. 



CEETAIN fruits are nearly always seedless, as 

 the Banana and Pineapple. Some kinds of 

 grapes are seedless, as those which form the raisins 

 called Zante currants. Many other fruits are occa- 

 sionally seedless. Strange ideas have been held 

 regarding the cause of seedlessness in fruits, 

 and queer methods recommended to produce this 

 condition. A method firmly believed in from very 

 ancient times is based on the supposition that the 

 seed has some vital connection with the pith of the 

 plant. Accordingly, we are told that in order to 

 obtain seedless grapes and guavas, stoneless cher- 

 ries, etc., all that is necessary is to split the stem or 

 branch, remove the pith, and bind the parts together 

 again. Another method for producing the same 

 result, which occasionally appears in the newspa- 

 pers, is to reverse the direction of growth by 

 planting the tree or cutting top end down. It is 

 needless to say that no intelligent fruit grower 

 holds such an opiiiion. 



The cause of seedlessness in fruits has been but 

 little studied by botanists. Two general causes, 



(79) 



