LEAVES AND STEMS WE EAT 1 45 



be better, and their seed planted for the new crop : 

 this is the way the wild cabbage became domesti- 

 cated, and improved, until men demanded the 

 garden varieties, and the parent forms ceases to 

 be used. 



Every vegetable, every fruit, that now grows 

 in gardens and orchards as a cultivated variety, 

 sprang from a wild species. In many cases, like 

 the cabbage, the parent plant is growing to-day 

 in its original state, in some country. The large 

 number of varieties is a sign of the great antiquity 

 of the species. 



Some wild cabbage plants showed a tendency to 

 form little heads at the axils of their leaves. They 

 were encouraged by the grower. Seeds of the best 

 plants were sown. The new plants had better ax- 

 illary buds. Gradually the terminal shoot ceased 

 to head. The result was the Brussels sprouts, one 

 of the most delicate of all cabbage forms. 



In some wild plants the tendency to form fleshy 

 subdivisions of flower stems was noticed. Selec- 

 tion of the best specimens for seed producers 

 finally resulted in a race of cabbages whose flowers 

 are borne on a white, coral-like mass of stem 

 branches. These form a delicious dish when cut 

 before the flowers appear. This race of cabbages 

 is known as cauliflower. 



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