The calyx is composed of five green blades, united together in their lower half; and it is on the line where these become united that you find the insertion of the five petals, and about a score of stamens, curving inwards when the flower is not fully opened. In the middle of these stamens (fig. 2), you will observe the pistil, of which the base (o) is the ovary, and this is surmounted with a neck or style, terminated by the swollen stigma. It is this body (o) which ultimately becomes the ripe fruit of the Cherry, the Peach, or Plum, as the case may be.

Now let us take another instance of a plant that belongs to the same natural alliance, but which differs to some extent from the Cherry in its structure. It is the STRAWBERRY (Fragaria vesca, fig. 3). The calyx, like that of the Cherry, is composed of five blades, but hehind these, in the Strawberry, there are five others much smaller (fig.5); and, as in the Cherry also, the segments of the calyx are united at half their length, and at the point of union the petas and stamens are inserted.

The pistils are very numerous, curved, and attached by their back on the large swollen receptacle or support (fi.4), which, instead of being flat, as in all the flowers we have hitherto studied, is conical. It is at first dry and tough, when the flower is youn, but later it enlarges, becomes succulent, and assumes a purple colour. By its development it spreads the pistils, which before formed on its surface a close layer; the space between these becomes smooth and shining. They become embedded in the flesh, and this flesh constitutes that delicious fruit we call a Strawberry (fig. 6).

There is yet another illustration to be studied belonging to this same alliance, in which the structure differs from all the preceding. It is found in the ROSE (fig. 7). To study this different structure we shall begin with the central organ. Observe first the point where the petals are attached; it is the same where the stamens are inserted. If you remove these petals you will find them perfectly free and distinct. Now, with a pen-knife cut the flower in half, longitudinally, beginning at the base, and cutting upwards, as is represented in fig. 8. This done, you see a considerable cavity, rounded at the base, and open at the top, thickly clothed with silken hairs, and containing the ovules (ov), which are attached to its walls. These ovaries are surmounted by their styles (STY), which protrude through the mouths of the cavity, where they form a bundle in the centre of the flower. Each of these ovules, after fecundation and development, contains a seed.

Now, if you ask what organ it is that constitutes this large hollow body, we reply, It is the tube of the calyx, that portion of it formed by the union of the five blades, and the upper parts of which are free, and sometimes fringed, forming what is called "the moss" on the MOSS ROSE.

With the PEAR we shall conclude this lesson, and those plants that belong to the Rose family. It matters not whether you take the Pear, the Apple, or the Hawthorn. We shall, however, take the Pear (Pyrus communis, fig. 9).

Here you meet with a structure analogous to what you found in the Rose. Pluck off the petals (fig. 10, P), and you will then see that they are inserted at the same point as the stamens (ST), which are just like those of the Strawberry, the Rose, and the Plum; but the parts of the central organ are less numerous. In the Rose you found an indefinite number, but here there are only five. Cut the flower in halves, as is represented in fig. 8, and you will see that the five styles (STY), correspond with the five ovaries (o), which occupy the hollow cavity of the base of the calyx. The five pistils, or central organs, when young, only slightly adhere together, and with the calyx; but soon they grow and increase in size, so that they become compressed on against the other, that the whole becomes consolidated, and ultimately forms the fruit which we call a pear, or an apple, or quince, or haw. The five free pieces of the calyx do not, however, participate in this consolidation; they wither and dry up by degrees, as well as the anthers that accompany them, and form, on the apex of the fruit, what is called "the eye."

As to the five pistils, they can be traced in the centre of the Apple by cutting it transversely (fig. 11), where they form the five cells that contain the seeds, one or two in number. In the Quince each cell contains numerous seeds, arranged in two series. Thses cells are protected against the swelling of the surrounding flesh by solid and elastic scales, that act as a vault, two for each cell, and they represent the interior skin of the ovary.

August, Florist and Pomologist, 1864