FKriTS 



S9 



Fig. 94. — Peach {Pruaus Pcr^^itca, Hose Family', RosacecE). A, flowering 

 branch. B, flower, cut vertically. C, diagram of flower. D, o\'ar>-, 

 cut across to show the two layers of the wall, the outer (dotted) "which 

 becomes fleshy, and the inner (white) which becomes hardened ae the 

 "stone" or "pit"; and the two ovules of which only one commonly 

 becomes a seed. E, fruit with flesh cut in half vertically, show^ing the 

 rough "stone" or inner hardened part of the o^'arj^ wall. F, thc^ "stone" 

 broken in half to show the single seed within. (LelNIaout and Decaisne.) 

 The plant is a tree; leaves smooth; flowers pink, a]:)pearing Ijefore the 

 leaves; fruit down}'. 



As alreadj' intimated, the most significant features of the 

 chemical composition of fruits are (1) the presence in con- 

 siderable amount of peculiar acids, (2) tlie predominance 

 of sugar in the dry substance, and (3) the presence of useful 

 salts. These chemical characteristics are shown on the chart. 

 It will also be noticed that the proportion of proteid is ^-ery 

 small except in the bairana which, in this respect, is typical 

 of a certain class of trojiical fruits, including the date and 

 fig, that form a highly important source of nutriment in the 

 regions where they grow. Starch maj' be detected in the 

 banana; in the more juicy fruits, howe\-('r, starch is alisent. 



Th(> highl>' attractive flavoring matters upon wlii<-li our 

 enjoyment of fruits largely depends, afe present in such ex- 

 ceedingly small amount that chemical analysis can hardly 



