CHAPTER IT 



THE STUDY OF FLOWERS AND FRUIT 



Purpose of this Book. — Most books on plants are pri- 

 marily based on the critical microscopic examination of the 

 flowers and their organs. For this the student must first 

 be able to find the flowers in good condition, and be able 

 to determine all about them. He must see the bottom 

 of the pistil (the ovary) and not only find out about its 

 cells, the attachment of the beginning of seeds (the ovules), 

 but must know how many of these become true seeds with 

 a plant (embryo). Concerning this plant within the seed- 

 coats, he must know how many leaves there are; how these 

 leaves are wrapped, folded, or wrinkled about the seed 

 stem, and whether there is a food supjily (reserve food) 

 for the early growth of the seedling outside of the little 

 plant. He must also know the kind of fruit it forms 

 mcftiths later and the color of this fruit when ripe. He is 

 asked to do all this before he can be ready to open the 

 book to use a so-called key. 



This impossible work has been asked of beginners in 

 botany so long that many are afraid of anything called a 

 " botany " and of anything termed a " key," and are pur- 

 chasing any book which shows an easy way to know the 

 wild flowers. Authors are even adding encyclopedic in- 

 formation to their " systematic synopsis," the modern ex- 

 pression for a key. This book is written for the use, and 

 not for the bewilderment, of the vast majority of the 

 public, who want some convenient way to learn the nature 

 of the cultivated shrubs. After a leaf is known, but little 

 is asked besides the color and size of the blossoms. 



The parts of the flowers are rarely examined, though 



27 



