iqiq] 



HALSTED— POSITION OF SEEDS 



249 



greatest range in 4-ovuled pods. The averages are more nearly 

 alike than averages for position in the pod and are not strictly 

 comparable. 



In the first harvest the aborts are nearly two-thirds the number 

 of those in the second harvest, but their distribution among the 

 9 positions in the pods does not follow fully the rule given for the 

 whole crop. This is shown in the pod averages, where in the first 

 harvest the smallest average is with the 3-ovuled pods, while in the 

 second crop the smallest average is with the 4-ovuled pods. 



A greater abortiveness in the second crop may be ascribed to 

 the advanced age of the plants or to the lack of proper insect 

 visitation, but this latter circumstance may not be significant, as 

 Lima beans are understood to be self-fertilized. It is possible, of 

 course, that the cause may be related to the atmospheric conditions 

 prevailing at the time the o\Tjles were ready to set, and this suggests 

 the importance of repeating the present test through a series of 

 years. 



The ranking figures make it easier to compare the relationship 

 of the average weights and abortiveness among their respective 

 units. Table X shows at once that the position yielding the 

 heaviest seeds has the lowest percentage of abortiveness, and, 

 contrariwise, the position with the lightest seeds has the largest 

 number of aborts. It is evident that the type of pod has much 

 influence upon the weight of the seed, and it is only proper that the 

 comparison here made should be within the pod. With this 

 consideration in mind it is seen that the order from base to tip with 

 all the pods is reversed, that is, the base bears the lighter (or lightest) 

 seeds and with more (or most) abortiveness. 



