July 15, 1915 Inheritance of Certain Characters of Grapes 



325 



SIZE OF BERRY 



In order to economize space it was necessary to plant the seedlings so 

 close together in the test vineyards that the clusters frequently did not 

 reach full and characteristic size. For this reason the size of cluster 

 can not be discussed, although it is an important factor. The size of the 

 berry, on the other hand, is one of the size factors least influenced by 

 environment and season. The data from these vines should be of value 

 and are presented in Table VII. 



Table WW. ^Inheritance of the size of the grape berry 



Parental types. 



Large X large 



Large * X medium to large c 



Large X medium 



Medium to large X medium to large 



Medium to large X medium 



Medium X medium 



Medium to large X small 



Medium to small X medium to small . 

 Small X small 



Classes of seedlings. 



Very 

 small. 



26 



5 



Small. 



2 

 6 



I 



34 

 20 



49 

 a 13 

 «35 

 0I6 



Below 

 medi- 

 um. 



35 

 35 

 39 

 II 



Medi- 

 um. 



28 



56 

 a 4 



O103 

 057 

 83 



12 

 23 



5 



Above 

 medi- 

 um. 



a 28 



34 

 2 



59 

 37 

 38 

 12 



7 

 3 



Large. 



19 

 a 67 



20 



3 

 II 



3 



Very 

 large. 



« Numbers in the bold-face type represent the mode. 



fc The reciprocal is included in each cross. 



c The use of the two terms shows that the berries varied from medium to large in the same variety. 



A Study of the various crosses which have entered into Table VII has 

 failed to show any indication of purity for size among the varieties studied. 

 Lacking exact measurements for the various sizes, it is not possible to 

 compute an accurate mean, but the relative position of the mean with 

 respect to the mode can be determined by a short study of the table. 

 The wide variation about the mean, even in crosses where both parents 

 were of the same size, prevents the only cross made between extremes 

 of size, medium to large X small, from showing any clear tendency for 

 the Fj progeny to be intermediate. The steady decrease in the mean 

 and mode as the parental types grow smaller shows clearly the strong 

 tendency for a variety to produce progeny centering around its own 

 size. 



FORM OF BERRY 



The ovalness of many varieties of V. vinifera is so pronounced that 

 some have given this as a species characteristic and have assumed that 

 ovalness in our American grapes was an indication of the presence of 

 blood of this species, an assumption hardly warranted by the facts. 

 The large number of markedly oval varieties among table varieties of V. 



