When a flower wilts and falls, there is something left on the end of the flower-stem. It is this that holds the seeds. You can see this in the rose. When the beautiful leaves of the flower are all scattered by the wind, there is a roundish thick part left on the end of the stem. The seeds are in this. It grows larger, and becomes of a reddish color. If you break it open you can see the seeds in it.
Seed-holders of the rose.
Here is represented this seed-holder of the rose, in the first figure as whole, and in the second as cut open to show the seeds. You see that the seeds crowd it full. There is no room for any thing else.
Now this we do not call fruit; for there is very little of it, and it does not taste good. But look at what is left when a pear-blossom falls. It is shaped very much like what is left when the leaves of the rose are scattered. But it grows more than that does. When it is fully grown it is larger than it need to be to hold the seeds. The seeds are but a small part of it. It is made to be eaten as well as to hold the seeds. So we call it fruit.
Pears.
Here is a small pear cut in such a way as to show the seeds. You see that it is very different from the pear-shaped seed-holder of the rose.
Oranges.
When the blossom of the orange falls, you see a little round green ball standing on the end of the stem. This grows very much, and when it is ripe it is large and of a yellow color. Just as it is with the pear, the orange is larger than it needs to be to hold the seeds. We call it fruit, because it is made for us to eat.
Berries.
The little yellow flower of the currant, when it falls, leaves a small, round berry. This grows, and becomes red when it ripens. So it is with the gooseberry. The whortleberry, you know, grows dark when it ripens. These berries have the seeds inside of them. The strawberry has its seeds on the outside, as you see here, and they give it a very pretty appearance.
These berries are all larger than they need to be to hold the seeds. The Creator intends them for fruit. But he never intended that what holds the rose-seeds should be fruit, and so he made it only large enough to hold the seeds.
Grapes.
The flowers on the grape-vine are very small and delicate. They are much smaller than the fruit that forms after they fall. The delicious grape is something more than a seed-holder. If it were meant only to hold the seeds, it would not have all that juicy pulp that is so pleasant to the taste.
Different sizes of fruits.
Fruits are of very different sizes. The fruits of some vines are very large, as the pumpkin and the watermelon. The fruits of some large trees are quite small. This is the case with the walnut and the chestnut. The acorn is a very small nut, but every child has been taught that
“Tall oaks from little acorns grow.”
Some of the trees in warm climates bear very large fruit. Cocoa-nuts are an example.
Seeds that are fruits.
The fruits of the earth that are most largely used by man are in the form of seeds. This is the case with grain, corn, peas, beans, etc. Most of what we raise of these is used for food, and we keep but a very small part for seed for the next year. The different kinds of grain and corn are used in making bread; and this, you know, is a part of our food that we depend upon so much, that it is called the staff of life. And this is the reason that in the Lord’s Prayer bread is used as meaning food, when we say, Give us this day our daily bread.
The grains from which our bread is made are quite small. But there are a great many of them. And they are freed from their chaffy coverings, and are ground between mill-stones, so as to be changed into the fine flour, from which we make bread.
Questions.—What is said of the seed-vessel of the rose? How is a pear different from this? What is said of the orange? What of currants, strawberries, etc.? What is said of grapes? What is said of the different sizes of fruits? In what shape are the fruits that are most used by man? Why is bread called the staff of life? How do we get the flour from which we make bread?
Questions.—What is said of the seed-vessel of the rose? How is a pear different from this? What is said of the orange? What of currants, strawberries, etc.? What is said of grapes? What is said of the different sizes of fruits? In what shape are the fruits that are most used by man? Why is bread called the staff of life? How do we get the flour from which we make bread?