OUR CULTIVATED PLANTS 283 



New fruits. That there are many other plants in the wild 

 which might be made to take the place of plants now culti- 

 vated is beyond question. Those that have been developed 

 are without doubt those that first came to hand in a promis- 

 ing form, but many still remain that, with the same amount 

 of care in developing, would yield equally valuable results. 

 We neglect the common elderberry, the wild crab, the many 

 species of hawthorn, the papaw, the persimmon, wild rice, and 

 many others simply because we have other species as good. 

 The huckleberries and blueberries are just being brought under 

 cultivation, and the cranberry is essentially wild, though cared 

 for and even planted in bogs suited to its requirements. 

 Even in the wild state these are very desirable plants. Call- 

 ing to mind, however, the advances made by other fruits when 

 carefully cultivated and selected, it seems likely that these 

 and many others may yet be made to yield much finer fruits 

 than they now produce. 



PRACTICAL EXERCISES 



1. Make a list of the wild fruits, seeds, roots, and leaves that you 

 know are edible. 



2. Make a list of the wild plants with which you are familiar that 

 are related to cultivated crops. 



3. Make a list of wild species that you think would be valuable for 

 domestication. 



4. What do you conclude to be the greatest obstacle to introducing 

 them into cultivation ? 



References 



Bailey, " Evolution of our Native Fruits." 



Bailey, " Survival of the Unlike." 



Davenport, " Domesticated Animals and Plants." 



De Candolle, "Origin of Cultivated Plants." 



De Vries, " Species and Varieties ; their Origin by Mutation." 



Sargent, "Corn Plants." 



Willis, "A Practical Flora." 



