Other receptacles of secretion, called _vittæ_ (_vitta_, a band), occur in the wall (pericarp) of the fruit of the Umbelliferæ, or Parsley Order of plants, and their arrangement forms characters for distinguishing the genera. They may be well seen in caraway-seeds; for the caraway-plant is one of the Umbelliferæ. It must be observed that a caraway “seed” is not really a seed, but consists of half the fruit; for, on careful examination, one side of it will be found to be flattened, the flattening resulting from the mutual pressure of the two half-fruits at that part; moreover the dried style exists at its summit. In the figure (Pl. I. fig. 19), the flattened part of the seed is next the observer. The seed has five evident longitudinal ridges, one at each corner or angle. The vittæ are dark-coloured (fig. 19 _a_), and placed one between each pair of these ridges; and they consist of long flattened spaces in the substance of the pericarp, with transverse markings, indicating internal cross partitions. In botanical works, the presence of five ridges, with single vittæ in the intervals, is given as a character by which the half-fruits (carpels) of the caraway are to be distinguished. But on closely inspecting the flattened surface, another ridge is seen running down its middle; so that the seed really has six ridges, one of which is smaller than the rest from the pressure of the other half. Hence the character of five ridges with single vittæ is incorrect. The vittæ contain the volatile oil to which the fragrance and pungency of the fruit is owing, although some of the oil exists also in the cells of the kernel or albúmen, which forms the white and greater part of the seed. The skin of a reddish apple, peeled off in the manner described for petals, exhibits beautifully the red colouring matter of different tints in adjacent cells, while the pulp displays the cell-contents, as already mentioned. The latter may also be easily examined, from their large size, in most of the softer fruits, as that of the snowberry or the cucumber. As the ovary or fruit approaches maturity, the petals and stamens wither and fall off, the calyx often remaining, and being sometimes adherent to the ovary, at others free or unattached to it. _Seeds._--During the ripening of the fruit, the seeds contained within it are gradually becoming further developed. The seeds themselves are covered outside by a skin or coat called the _testa_ (_testa_, a shell). This is remarkable for frequently displaying various kinds of figured patterns, consisting of raised networks, ridges, little knobs or tubercles, &c. Examples of these may be found in the seeds of the poppy (Pl. I. fig. 27), mignonette (fig. 29), and chickweed (fig. 51).