species in Cultivation. \77 



once found by man in nature and only once brouglit 

 into cultivation. 



So long as the chief concern of biologists was to 

 establish the theory of descent there was some use in 

 elaborating the probabilities in this sphere. But now, 

 it seems to me that it w^ill suffice if we recognize the lack 

 of historical information on this point. 



.A favorite theme for discussion is the question 

 whether wheat owes its origin to a few or to many wild 

 forms. For whether we are to assume that wheat has 

 "varied" in a large or small degree during its cultivation 

 depends on the answer to this question. It seems far 

 more likely that wheat, just like Draba verna, was orig- 

 inally composed of a vast assemblage of subspecies in 

 the wild state. ^ And as fertilization in wdieat takes place 

 mainly before the flowers are open, it is evident that 

 many kinds can maintain themselves side by side in the 

 same field, provided of course that they are really con- 

 stant. 



The history of this subject contains a chapter which 

 has a very strong bearing on this point. It concerns 

 Colonel Le Couteur's cultivations in Jersey at the be- 

 ginning of the nineteenth century.- He was visited by 

 Professor La Gasca who pointed out to him that his 

 field of wheat, far from being a uniform culture, con- 

 sisted of at least 23 distinct sorts growing together. The 

 natural supposition was that some of these sorts would 

 have a larger share in the harvest than others. Le Cou- 

 TEUR therefore harvested the seeds of typical individuals 

 of these sorts separately and carried out comparative 



^ Of all cultivated plants the cereals have changed least accord- 

 ing to De Candolle in I'Origine des cspcces ciiltivces. 



^VoN RiJMKER. Gclreidesiichtung, p. 67. 



