On the Connection between the Leaves and Fruit. 185 



between the kind of foliage, and the kind of fruit, in many 

 of our orchard and garden trees ; and although the full and 

 true uses of the leaves of vegetables are not well understood, 

 yet the subject seems to be open to research, and even now 

 capable of practical applications. The first remarkable coin- 

 cidence is, between the size of the leaves and the size of the 

 fruit. This may be seen in the contrast between the fruit 

 and the leaves of the Magnum bonum plum, and those of 

 the Damascene ; the Bigarreau, and the wild Cherry ; the 

 Catillac, and the little Musk Pear ; the yellow Antwerp and 

 the red prickly Raspberry ; the several varieties of the Goose- 

 berry ; the common small Walnut, and the large or double 

 Walnut ; the small and large Medlar ; the different species of 

 Cranberries ; the Filbert, and the Hazle nut : and the same 

 indications prevail in herbaceous fruit-bearing plants, as in 

 the Melon and Gourd ; the Strawberry ; and among esculent 

 vegetables, as in the Pea and Bean. 



By an accurate observance of these characteristics, new 

 seedling varieties may be partly estimated in an early stage, 

 and the known kinds of fruit trees better distinguished when 

 they are not in bearing. Other evident properties in the 

 foliage of vegetables, such as their tints of colour, their 

 hardness, thickness, and capability of resisting cold, are 

 associated with the qualities of their fruits. The local influ- 

 ence of mountainous situations, and of a bleak aspect, which 

 stunt the foliage, affect both the fruits and the growth of 

 timber, in all trees. The ravages of herbivorous insects, and 

 of parasitical fungi, are thus also indirectly mischievous to 

 fruits. It is probable, that the great differences in fruits of 

 the same variety, which arise from local causes, are princi- 



