A Family History. 



221 



however, of the seed vessel itself becoming soft and 

 succulent, the calyx or outer flower covering of the 

 petals has covered up the carpels or young seed 

 vessels even in the blossom, and has then swollen out 

 into a sort of stalk-like fruit. The case, indeed, is 

 again not unlike that of the strawberry, only that 

 here the stalk has enlarged outward round the flower 

 and inclosed the seeds, instead of simply swelling 



FtG. 47. — Vertical section of Apple-blossom. 



into a boss and embedding them. In the hip of the 

 true roses we get some foreshadowing of this plan, 

 except that in the roses the seeds still remained sepa- 

 rate and free inside the swollen stalk, whereas in the 

 pear and apple the entire fruit grows into a single solid 

 mass. Here also, as before, we can trace a gradual 

 development from the bushy to the tree-like form. 



The common hawthorn of our hedges shows us, 

 perhaps, the simplest stage in the evolution of the 

 apple tribe. It grows only into a tall bush, not 



