Lesson Cc

How an Apple Grows

Leading thought—The purpose of the apple blossom is to produce apples which shall contain seeds to grow into more apple trees.

Method—This lesson should begin with the apple blossoms in the spring and should continue, with occasional observations, until the apples are well grown. If this is not possible, the blossom may be studied, and directly afterward, the apple may be observed carefully, noting its relation to the blossom.

The Apple Blossom

Observations—1. How are the apple buds protected in the winter? As the buds open what becomes of the protecting scales? Can you see the scars left by the scales after they have fallen. How does this help us to tell the age of a twig or branch?

2. As the winter buds open, which appear first—the flowers or the leaves? Do they both come from the same bud? Do all the buds produce both flowers and leaves?

3. Study the bud of the apple blossom. Describe its stem; its stipules; its calyx. What is the shape and position of the lobes, or sepals, of the calyx? Why do we usually call them the “lobes of the calyx” instead of sepals?

4. Sketch or describe an open apple blossom. How many petals? What is their shape and arrangement? Can you see the calyx-lobes between the petals as you look down into the blossom? What sort of a figure do they make? Are the petals usually cup-shaped? What is their color outside and inside? Why do the buds seem so pink and the blossoms so white?

5. How many stamens are there? Are they all of the same length? What is the color of the filaments and anthers? On what are they set?

6. How many pistils do you see? How many stigmas are there? Are the ovaries united? Are they attached to the calyx?

7. Describe the young leaves as they appear around the blossoms. What is their color? Have they any stipules? Why do they make the flowers look like a bouquet?

8. After the petals fall, what of the blossom remains? What part develops into the apple? Does this part enclose the ovaries of the pistils? How can you tell in the ripe apple if any stigma failed to receive pollen?

9. What is the position of the calyx-lobes directly after the petals fall? Do they change later? How does this affect spraying for the codling moth?

10. Watch an apple develop; look at it once a week and tell what parts of the blossom remain with the apple.

11. How many blossoms come from one winter bud? How many leaves? Do the blossoms ever appear along the sides of the branches, as in the cherries? How many blossoms from a single bud develop into apples?

12. Since the apple is developed on the tip of the twig how does the twig keep on growing?

13. Compare the apple with the pear, the plum, the cherry and the peach in the following particulars; position on the twigs; number of petals; number and color of stamens; number of pistils; whether the pistils are attached to the calyx-cup at the base.