THE SELF-FEKTILIZATION OF PLANTS. 385 



The great room, for improvement, there is in the 

 cabbage, by means of reversion direct, or reversion by- 

 crossing, is here shown (although no useful purpose 

 of Man will be served by effecting such improvement 

 in the said plant) ; and the " infinite diversity of charac- 

 ter," which Darwin notes, is explained, by the fact, 

 that many of the characters of the cabbage species, 

 have been distributed among the different varieties. 

 The above quotation shows one feature, in which most 

 of the varieties have been modified. " Every one," says 

 Darwin, " knows how greatly the various kinds of cab- 

 bage, differ in appearance." He then notices the height 

 the plant has attained in the Island of Jersey, and 

 gives many of the forms which the cabbage has as- 

 sumed, in several parts of the world. 



On page 281, Vol. ii, he says, "No variety of wheat 

 is quite uniform, in character." This shows, that, not 

 only do the varieties of wheat differ in character, but 

 so, also, do the individuals of each variety. His obser- 

 vation has doubtless been confined, to the part which 

 man values, viz., the seed; but, together with varia- 

 tions, in the special excellence of that species, there 

 are, also, many variations in the leaves, in the stalks, 

 and in other not-valued parts. When these positive 

 differences are united, in an individual plant, as they 

 are, by crossing, good must, according to the theory 

 of reversion, result. The facts consist with this in- 

 ference. 



"Mr. Maund," says Darwin (p. 161, Vol. ii, Animals 

 and Plants, &c), "exhibited before the Royal Agri- 

 cultural Society specimens of crossed wheat, together 

 33* 



