AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January , 
most florists. The best violet for the purpose is 
probably the Neapolitan ; it is double and very 
fragrant. It needs a rather cool room and 
should not be over-watered. The Chinese 
Primrose is valuable for the long time it remains 
in flower. It is now to be had in great variety, 
both double and single flowers, of pink of va- 
rious shades, and pure white. They are easily 
raised from the seed, sown in May, but now 
plants just ready to bloom must be purchased. 
Fig. 1. — SECTION OF APPLE FLOWER. 
An Apple and How it is Described. 
Those not familiar with pomology have in 
several instances asked us to explaiu the terms 
used by writers in their descriptions of fruit. 
The best way to make the matter understood 
is to give a general idea of the structure of the 
apple — and as there are probably many who 
have been familiar with apples all their lives 
who have never thought about their structure, 
we think the subject of sufficient interest to 
illustrate it. If we examine an apple blossom, 
the five petals, the most conspicuous parts, first 
attract the attention. On turning the blossom 
over, we see the five green points of the calyx, 
and below these a small green knob, to which 
the calyx points are joined, or rather with which 
they seem to be continuous, which is the calyx 
tube. The calyx is regarded as being composed 
of five parts, which are united part way up to 
form a sort of tube or deep cup, and the rest of 
the way they are free, and show as the five green 
points before noted. Now look inside of the 
I A 
Fig. 2. — SECTION OF APPLE. 
flower, and the numerous stamens with their 
yellow knobs or anthers will be seen just within 
the petals, and in the very center of the flower 
will be found the elongated parts (styles) of five 
pistils. These parts seem to be all united 
at the base of the flower, or to rest upon 
the calyx tube. To get a better idea of the 
structure, cut the blossom open lengthwise, as 
in figure 1, which shows one of the points of the 
calyx, b, two whole petals, c, and part of an- 
other, several of the stamens, d, and three of the 
five pistils, e. The lower portion, or ovaries, /, 
of two of the pistils are shown as cut open, ex- 
posing the ovules or undeveloped seeds. The 
ovaries are surrounded by and closely united to 
the calyx-tube, a. This, then, is the appearance 
of the apple blossom, so unlike the fruit which 
is to come from it. Now let us note the changes 
that take place. A few days after blossoming, 
the petals fall to the ground and decay, the sta- 
mens wither, as do the long portions of the pis- 
tils, the points of the calyx remain alive, but 
instead of spreading as they do in the blossom, 
they usually curve in toward one another, and 
grow but little, if any. Not so the remaining 
parts. The ovaries,/, increase in size, but the ca- 
lyx tube, «, does this in a still more remarkable 
degree, and grows out of all proportion to the 
other parts. We will now trace the parts of the 
blossom as they appear in the ripe apple, a sec- 
tion of which is given in figure 2, the letters 
used in figure 1 applying to the corresponding 
parts here. The calyx tube, a, is now the most 
conspicuous part, it having swollen in all direc- 
tions in such a manner as to surround the stem, 
which now appears sunken in a cavity J, and to 
bury the now insignificant calyx points, b, in 
Fig. 3.— APPLE. 
what is called the basin, h. The eatable portion 
of the apple is the calyx tube, which lias not 
only increased many fold in size, but has under- 
gone other changes quite as striking. In the 
flower it was green, hard and bitter, scarcely 
differing in its taste from a leaf or other green 
part. Now it becomes richly colored, mellow, 
juicy, contains an abundance of sugar, with a 
refreshing acid and a grateful aroma. — A 
wonderful chemist is the sun. Above we al- 
luded to the calyx tube as being composed of 
five parts united together; we very often see 
apples with five wavy ridges upon them, and in 
one or two sorts five distinct lines may be traced 
from the eye to the stem. The ovaries, /, have 
also enlarged, and form the core, between which 
and the enlarged calyx tube, a, a well-defined 
line can usually be traced, especially if an apple 
be exposed to the air for a short time after it is 
cut. That portion of the core forming the 
cavity which contains the seeds becomes tough 
and parchment-like, and lines the cells, each of 
which contains two seeds. Enclosed by the 
points of the calyx, b, is a sharp depression, t, 
called the eye, and within this may usually be 
found the withered stamens, etc. The calyx 
end of the apple is then plainly the upper end, 
but as the fruit increases in size the weight is 
more than the stem can support, and what is 
really the lower portion, the stem end, appears 
uppermost. In descriptions of apples, the size, 
Fig. 4. — PEAli-SHAPED APPLE. 
and shape, color, and other externa,' r-'pearances 
of the skin are first given, then the basin, h, is 
described ; it may be deep or shallow, regulat- 
or furrowed ; the eye, *, may be large or small, 
open or closed. The cavity, j, varies in depth 
and shape as does the stem in length and thick- 
ness. All these characters can be noticed upon 
inspection of the exterior. When the apple is 
cut open, the relative size of the core is noticed, 
and if, as often happens, the union of its parts 
is ruptured, it forms an open or hollow 
core, which is characteristic of some varie- 
ties. The shape and color of the seeds and the 
texture and flavor of the fruit are described by 
terms in common use. The pear does not differ 
structurally from the apple, except that the 
fruit tapers towards the stem instead of being 
sunken to form a cavit}'. There are some pears, 
however, that look exceedingly like apples, and 
we have seen malformed apples so like pears that 
their nature could only be made out by the char- 
acter of the flesh. As an illustration of this 
we give in figures 3 and 4 two apples from 
the same tree, given us last summer by Mr. 
F. W. Woodward, of the Horticulturist. 
Trees Away from Home. 
Within certain limits we can readily say 
whether a tree will succeed or not in a given 
place. But with regard to the behaviour of 
trees removed from their native localities to 
a widely separated one of a not very dissimilar 
climate, we can not predict with any certainty, 
and we are constantly meeting with results that 
we can not explain, save by saying that the 
soil and situation do or do not suit the trees. 
The readiness with which foreign plants adapt 
themselves to new countries, and even crowd 
out the natives, is well exemplified ill weeds — 
and a little observation will show that foreign 
trees seem to be quite as well adapted to our 
climate as the natives, if not better. We need 
only to quote the Ailanthus, Paper-Mulberry, Sil- 
ver Poplar, and the White and Yellow Willows 
as familiar examples. Our nursery catalogues 
are mainly made up of foreign trees, as they are, 
as a general thing, more easily propagated than 
most of our own, and grow more rapidly. 
Among evergreens the two most vigorous grow- 
ers and among the best for ornamental use as 
