164 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



uniform as to the part of the plant which thus becomes palatable 

 to animals. In peaches, cherries, &c, it is the ovary itself. In 

 apples, pears, &c, it is mainly the united leaves of the calyx, or 

 outer part of the flower. In the strawberry, it is the tip of the 

 stem (receptacle of the flower). In the cashew nut of the tropics, 

 it is a part of the stem below that which produces the flower. 



If these things are true, we can assert that the edible formation 

 is the result of a process of natural selection favorable to the 

 plant as a species, because it secures the perpetuation of the 

 species through the broadcast sowing of seeds. We can also 

 assert that man's selection, in a similar way, must be capable of 

 securing special developments from plants with or without seed 

 production. This last statement is very likely to be considered 

 debatable. Can man gather now, or at any other time, grapes 

 from thorns, and figs from thistles? We know that we do not, 

 but we do not know that it is always to be impossible. These 

 edible parts have been produced in nature in connection with the 

 seeds, because, as we have said, the plants were thereby ben- 

 efitted. But in the man's selection, this need not be the case. 

 The adage, "What man has done, man may do," is serviceable 

 here. The cabbage, the cauliflower, the Kohl rabi and Brussel's 

 sprouts, are examples of what he has done, for all of these 

 originated from the same weed-like plant, which still preserves 

 its natural character on the sea coasts of Europe. There is no 

 probability that anything valuable can be thus obtained from 

 every plant, neither that any one thing can be secured from two 

 or more sources, for all that can be done is to watch closely for 

 any variation suggestive of utility, and then by repeated sowing 

 and selecting, perfect the type. Who knows but that from a 

 rose bud something as good as a fig can be obtained ? Who knows 

 what may be accomplished from many plants in this same direc- 

 tion by the future horticulturists? The process, if successful, 

 will doubtless take long and patient watching and waiting, but 

 the accomplishments ©f the past, both by nature and by art, are 

 surely worthy of recognition and repetition. Our cultivated 

 fruits are now widely different from their wild progenitors. 

 There is no end to perfection. They are still susceptible to im- 

 provement. 



Our second proposition may be quickly disposed of. It cannot 

 be that any seed was directly and primarily made to be eaten. 

 There is no possible good which could come to the fruiting plant 

 to be robbed of its most precious treasures with no return. 

 There is no possible return, if the seed is stolen and destroyed. 

 There may be instances, it is true, in which the sacrifice of some 

 seeds may be of advantage to others, as when a squirrel gathers 

 nuts, and, after carrying them away, fails to eat them all; but 

 this is a hazardous experiment, not likely to be of efficient 

 service. In fact, the seeds which are now prized by man for 



