180 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[June, 
crown on the top of some species of akene fruit 
is called Pappus; in some it represents a cup, iu 
others, scales, as in the sunflower (9); in the 
thistle, aster, dandelion (6), and hundreds of 
others it is cut up into a tuft of fine hairs. 
The Utricle is the same as an akene, with a thin, 
bladdery pericarp; as seen in the pigweed (12). 
A Caryopsis or Grain differs from the last by 
the seed filling out and adhering to the pericarp, 
so that fruit and seed are in one body; as seen 
in wheat, Indian com and other 
kinds of grain.—A Nut is a dry in- 
dehiscent fruit, commonly onc-cel- 
led and one-seeded, with a hard 
bony wall or shell, such as cocoa- 
nut, hazlenut and acorn (7).—A Sa¬ 
mara, or Key fruit , is either a nut or 
an akene, furnished with a wing, 
like maple keys and seeds of the 
ash, (17), and elm.—The Capsule, or 
Pod, is the general name for dry seed-vessels 
which split open at maturity. There are several 
sorts distinguished by particular names. Two 
have simple pistils, namely: 
The Follicle , a simple fruit opening as in lark¬ 
spur, columbine, marsh marigold (5), and the 
Legume , a true pod like the pea (4), this is simi¬ 
lar to the follicle only it opens at both sides. 
The true Capsule is the pod of a compound 
pistil. The difference between a simple and 
compound pistil can be seen by comparing the 
pea (4), and marsh marigold (5), with the trian¬ 
gular fruit of the Iris, or Flower de Luce, (18). 
The Silique (16), the pod of the mustard family, 
differs from the legume by having a so-called 
false partition, to which the seeds are attached. 
The Pyxis is a pod which opens by a horizon¬ 
tal line, one part forming a lid, as in purslane (10). 
Multiple or Collective Fruits are masses of fruit, 
resulting from several blossoms, aggregated into 
one body, as the pineapple, mulberry, and fig. 
The Strobile or Cone is a scaly multiple fruit. 
The hop is one species where the large scales are 
bracts; but the name more especially belongs to 
the pine or fir cone. The scales are open pistils 
overlying each other and pressed together in a 
spike ; 14 is one of these scales of a pine cone. 
In this description all the principal kinds of 
fruit are embraced. Those who may wish a 
more elaborate description we will refer to 
Gray’s Botanical Text Book. The sketch accom¬ 
panying is furnished to the Agriculturist from a 
Botanical Plate, probably to be published. 
Dahlia Hoops. 
A very simple and apparently practical con¬ 
trivance has been left upon the exhibition tables 
of the American Agriculturist, by Mr. Andrew W. 
Nicholson, of Brooklyn. 
A stout wire is bent in 
the form shown, so that 
placing the curved parts 
of the wire again! 
plant stake, and passing A 
a barrel hoop through E 
the other looped ends of ^ 
the wire behind the 
stake, it may be securely 
fastened at any eleva¬ 
tion on the stake by a 
wedge placed between 
the hoop and the stake 
as represented. The 
ends of the hoops are 
secured by two rings of tin or zinc, which al¬ 
low them to slide freely through, and the hoop 
thus be enlarged or contracted at pleasure. 
Kinds of Fruit—A Botanical Description. 
BY T. D. BENNETT. 
The organs of a flower are of two kinds (1st,) 
the protecting organs or leaves of the flower, con¬ 
sisting of two circles of leaves, the outer called 
the calyx, the inner the corolla. (2nd,) The essen¬ 
tial organs, which are also of two kinds, stamens 
and pistils placed one above or within the other. 
The stamen consists of two parts, the filaments 
or stem, and the anther, a case which contains 
the yellow fertilizing dust, called pollen. The 
pistil is in three parts, (beginning from below,) 
the ovary, a hollow case containing rudimentary 
seeds called the ovules, second the style, the taper¬ 
ing part above, third the stigma, the tip of the 
style consisting of loose tissue, upon which the 
pollen falls, when the ripe anthers open. Re¬ 
ferring to the flower (1) in the engraving—(a) is 
the calyx, (b) corolla, (c) stamens, (d) the pistil, 
with the ovary showing the ovules within. 
The pollen upon being discharged from the 
anthers falls upon the stigma and communi¬ 
cates an influence down the style into the ovary: 
the ovules thus fertilized become seeds, which 
ripening, with the ovary, constitute the fruit. 
Proper fruit then is this ripened ovary called 
seed-vessel or pericarp, containing the seeds. 
Sometimes the calyx (a) adheres to the ovary 
and thus becomes a part of the fruit, and even 
forms the principal bulk of it, as in the apple. 
Fruits are divided into simple .and multiple. 
Fruits of the former class consist each of a single 
ovary, one or many seeded, and are classified as 
Fleshy fruits, Stone fruits, and Diy fruits, etc 
In Fleshy fruit the walls of the ovary thick¬ 
en and become soft and juicy. The principal 
kinds of fleshy fruits are the following: 
The Berry which is fleshy or pulpy throughout. 
The grape, gooseberry (3), currant, tomato, etc., 
are good examples. The orange, the lemon, the 
shaddock, etc., are berries with leathery rinds. 
The Pepo, or Gourd fruit (15), is also a sort of 
berry, externally firm, and internally pulpy. Cu¬ 
cumbers, melons, and squashes are illustrations. 
In the Pome (2), such as the apple, pear, and 
quince, the calyx only is thickened, the star- 
like core in the center is the ripened ovary. 
Of Stone Fruits the most familiar kind is 
the Drupe (11), such as the cherry, plum and 
peach. In this, the outer part of the ovary be¬ 
comes fleshy, like a berry, while the inner har¬ 
dens like a nut. The blackberry and raspberry 
are composed of a great number of miniature 
stone fruits, like cherries, upon an elongated re¬ 
ceptacle, as the end of the flower stalk is called. 
In Dry Fruit, the seed-vessel remains herba¬ 
ceous in texture, or becomes thin; or else it har¬ 
dens throughout. Some forms are indehiscent, that 
is, remain closed; others arc dehiscent, that is, split 
open at maturity in some regular way. The 
principal indehiscent kinds are the following: 
The Achenium, or Akene. This may be mis¬ 
taken for a naked seed; but it is a ripened ovary, 
the remains of its stigma being plainly seen. Of 
tins sort is the fruit of the Buttercup (13). The 
