199 
to allow it in all, and this would render descriptions value- 
less, if not absurd. Thus we find in the writings of a prom- 
inent grower of, and writer on cabbages: ‘‘In the Wakefield 
cabbage, the conical and flat are both normal.” The same 
author; in speaking of the Stone Mason cabbage, says: 
“The color of the leaves varies from a bluish-green to a peas 
green, and the structure from nearly smooth to much 
blistered.”” Another well-known seed grower says of the 
Jersey Wakefield cabbage: ‘‘It must be admitted it pre- 
sents many conditions ; it is early, late, pointed, round, 
rough and smooth leaved.” Admissions like these would 
seem to prove beyond question that the cabbage under con- 
sideration is either very poorly fixed, or else from having 
been grown under very unfavorable conditions, or through 
mixture with other varieties, it has been permitted to de- 
teriorate. We cannot of course ignore the inherent varia- 
bility of plants, but the seed grower should certainly have 
an ideal form for his varieties, and this ideal should include 
not simply the part for which the plant is grown, but the 
secondary characters! as well. It is probable that through > 
the little understood law of co-relation of growth, the part 
of the vegetable used is influenced by the secondary char- 
acters, and that the highest excellence can only be attained 
by paying careful attention to these, as well as to the part 
for which the plant is grown. It is highly important also 
that different seed growers should work towards the same 
ideal, and the present attempt is designed to aid them in 
doing this. 
‘In deciding from our variable plantings what particular 
form should constitute the true variety, it has been assumed 
that the majority of the plants were correct. As an illus- 
tration of the variability in plants of the same variety from 
the same seedsman, and from different seedsmen, a table 
is here presented showing the results of a comparison of the 
secondary characters in the Premium Flat Dutch cabbage : 





rv 6 cs i} 
: : > > > qa 
q = 
Pee roe ee | Beek Sides iat Ws ule ge 
g 3 oh Qe 33 | So. ry Ay mp. Pi fe 
P nm . o & oe OO qo PUA re roe re) rie. Sos 
& Lo Sy Od At =H us) & : 2 oe 
o4 nD Ae me CO] Ho HS a iS Oo 
wn oe Qn Qww Moines BIS =| da @-— aie Bem 
be Es ain sie qa | gag) Ss ea sf & D B® 
2 3A i) 2 B82 | S2n) BH 55 5 A 6 S Be 
ml! ad, Ow Ou Oo As aa) eo“ faa) —) i} 
Brill. 23 15 8 5 ign a7 5 1 5 18 
Ferry. 21 17 4 11 10 12 9 Fe: 4 17 
Greg. 22 18 4 8 14 18 4 4 18 
Hen. 23 19 4 9 14 19 4 3 20: 
Maule. 11 11 0 6 5 10 1 0 11 
Till. 24 21 3 8 16 18 6 he 1 23; 
Vick. 22 18 4 f4 15 13 6 3 3 19 
Total 146 | 119 | 3 B4 9 tector Pose ih dala aout 188 
1The term ‘‘secondary characters’ is here used to mean all other charac- 
ters except those relating to the head. 
14 
