Cultivated Plants 



appearance. Such an idea must have oc- 

 curred to the man who, in remote ages, 

 first admitted the cliff cabbage to his garden. 

 The idea was justified — the wild cabbage 

 has been improved by the incessant care 

 of man ; the stalk became stronger, the 

 leaves increased in number, and, white and 

 tender, were fitted into a close head, and the 

 cabbage that we have to-day is the final 

 result of this splendid transformation. We 

 see the starting point of the precious plant 

 on the rocks of the shore, and the goal in 

 our gardens. But where are the intermediate 

 forms that in the course of centuries gradually 

 brought the species to its present condition ? 

 These forms were so many steps forward. 

 It was necessary to preserve them to prevent 

 them from falling back, to multiply them, 

 and to keep on attempting further improve- 

 ment. Who could reckon the expenditure of 

 labour that has produced the cabbage ? 



You may know the wild pear tree. It is 

 an ugly bush, bristling with fierce thorns. 

 The pear is a detestable fruit that contracts 

 the throat and sets the teeth on edge, very 

 small, bitter, hard and apparently stuffed 

 with gravel. The man must have been gifted 

 with rare inspiration who first had faith in 



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