IV 
SOME PLANT RELATIVES 
I SN’T IT ODD that the apple tree is really a rose bush 
that has learned how to make fruit! 
The seed pod of the rose, as you will see if you examine 
it, is like an apple. 
It is possible, it seems, to trace kinships among plants 
and to show that there are brothers and sisters, first cous¬ 
ins, second cousins, and so on down the line. 
There are the members of the rose family, for example. 
The apples, pears, and quinces are one branch of that 
family. The peaches, plums, and cherries are members 
of another branch. The blackberries, raspberries, and 
dewberries are members of another branch. 
Certain family traits run through all these branches. 
The flowers of all are much alike and form a sort of fam¬ 
ily trade-mark. They are as closely related as second 
cousins. The apple and the cherry, for example, might 
be set down as second cousins. Possibly the strawberry 
and the peach, which certainly do not seem much alike at 
first thought, might be considered as far apart as third 
cousins. 
There are outstanding differences among the apple 
group, the peach group, and the berry group. These are 
chiefly in the way in which they put up their seeds. The 
apples, pears, and quinces put their seeds up in little 
clusters in their cores. The peaches, cherries, and plums 
are stone fruits; that is, they have a single seed enclosed 
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