Wallflower and Cabbage on 
occasional bee or butterfly, and these must effect 
CLOSSses. 
The Wild Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) is now found 
only on the sea-cliffs of our south-western shores, 
forming a stout crooked stem a couple of feet in 
height, strongly scarred where the leaves have fallen. 
The long lobed leaves have that glaucous “ bloom” 
that distinguishes some of the cultivated varieties. 
The pale-yellow flowers are about an inch across, 
with erect sepals like those of the Wallflower. It is 
wonderful to think that people can deny to Nature 
the power of producing, during ages, many forms of 
animals or plants from one ancestral type by merely 
changing the conditions under which they live; 
whilst within the historical period man has produced 
from the Wild Cabbage such dissimilar table vege- 
tables as Scotch Kail, Borecole, Savoys, Brussels 
Sprouts, Red, White, and Cow Cabbages, Cauliflower 
and Broccoli. All owe their origin to the very 
different -looking Wild Cabbage of our sea - cliffs. 
There are not wanting those who believe that in 
addition to the cultivated varieties named, the Rape, 
the Turnip, and the Swede are also referable to 
B. oleracea as the common ancestor. 
The small but ubiquitous Shepherd’s Purse 
(Capsella bursa-pastoris) may be taken as a type of 
the inconspicuous-flowered weeds of this family, which 
fertilise themselves, and produce such abundance of 
seeds that they take possession of all cultivated 
ground so soon as the husbandman’s back is turned. 
Their flowers range in diameter from one-fourth to 
one-twelfth of an inch, and in some cases the petals 
have been converted into stamens as being more 
