Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 42.djvu/339

Rh Instead of a leaf-bearing shoot, the axis is extended by the production of another fruit, or branching may take place in an irregular way, and a structure as monstrous as that shown in Fig. 8 results.

The apple as well as other fruit is not infrequently twinned by the union of two forming buds, as shown in Fig. 9. In others there is less frequently a second row of seed cavities, thus making a "two-storied" fruit, so to speak, as seen in Fig. 10.

Passing below ground, there are more abnormities to be found than most persons are aware of. The peculiar conditions that attend the subterranean habit favor monstrous growths. Not long ago a cluster of sweet potatoes was brought to me. Some were all red upon the surface, others were all yellow, and some were one half red and the other side yellow. The Irish potato is fertile in its freaks. Seemingly not content with the underground situation, potatoes sometimes appear upon the branches among the leaves. Occasionally a potato when planted whole will develop other new and small potatoes beneath the skin and

out of sight, which only calls to mind how a hollow turnip may have its cavity filled with an after-growth of foliage, only to be discovered when the root is cut in two.

Sometimes the abnormal growths bear a strong resemblance to some other object very far from the one really shown. Thus Fig. 11 shows what might well pass for the human hand, but it is nothing more or less than an ear of corn with the grain removed. Instead of ending in the usual way, it has become