Cnapter 7 



THE ORIGIN OP CULTIVATED PLANTS 



All of the plants known today as cultivated varieties originally 

 existed in the v^ild state, although in many cases the plants have 

 been under cultivation for such a long time — thousands of years 

 — that they bear little resemblance to living wild relatives, nor 

 can they with certainty be identified with their original ancestral 

 stock. For the longer the cultivation process has continued, 

 frequently the more unlike their wild relatives have the culti- 

 vated plants become. 



Life for prehistoric man meant ranging through the forests 

 and fields in a never ending search for plants which could satisfy 

 his appetite, clothe him and make life more pleasant. Fruits, 

 seeds, roots and other useful parts of wild plants were collected 

 by early civilized man, who relied upon nature to grow the 

 plants in her own way. From them he secured the various plant 

 foods and allied products discussed in the preceding chapter. 

 The prehistoric larder was filled with edible parts collected from 

 wild plants; primitive beverages were made from other wild 

 plants; and simple fabrics were made from fibers stripped from 

 such native species as possessed them. 



With the transition to less nomadic types of existence and the 

 development of agriculture, man learned an easier way to get 

 his plant products by growing the wild plants in the fields near 

 his dwelling. Useful plants could be brought from distant and 

 inaccessible places and cultivated near home, thus adding 

 variety to the native species present in the immediate locality. 

 In the carefully tended and more favorable environment, the 

 wild plants grew to greater size and often produced more satis- 

 factory fruits or other edible portions. At the same time, here 

 and there in nature occurred varieties of plants with superior 

 qualities; these choice individuals were brought to the fields and 



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