41 o Journal of Agricultural Research 



PARENT PLANTS 



In 1 910 the mean of the averages of all the ripe 5 -seeded pods on 11 

 plants of the Florida velvet bean (pedigreed line) was 62.9 mm. The 

 mean of the average lengths of the 5 -seeded pods of 9 plants of the Lyon 

 bean (pedigreed line) was 92.7 mm. Some of these Lyon bean plants 

 .grew in a sandy spot and were stunted; hence the calculated mean is 

 probably too low. 



In 1 91 2 the mean of the averages of all the 5 -seeded pods of 2 pedi- 

 greed Florida velvet bean plants was 62.8 mm. and that of 2 pedigreed 

 Lyon bean plants was 94.5 mm. These plants were grown on poles and 

 were kept free from caterpillars. From 4 more Florida velvet bean and 

 42 more Lyon bean plants, of the same families, large samples were 

 picked, and all the 5-seeded pods in these samples were measured, but 

 in picking such samples the conspicuous best racemes are probably 

 picked first, and the averages (63.2 and 95.6), which include these sam- 

 ples, are probably too high. 



To sum up, the most reliable measurement of the average length of 

 the dry 5-seeded pods of the pedigreed line of the Florida velvet bean 

 was probably 62.8 mm. and that of the Lyon bean 94.5 mm. 



FIRST GENERATION 



The 5-seeded pods of the 7 first-generation plants were not separately 

 measured in 1909, although many pods were measured. The measure- 

 ments of 883 seeds from all parts of the pod gave an average of 15.5 mm. 

 The measurements of 613 seeds of the Lyon bean from all parts of the 

 pod gave an average of 15. i mm. The excess of the first-generation seed 

 length over that of the Lyon bean is in part, or wholly, due to the many 

 gaps in the seed rows of the semisterile first-generation plants. These 

 gaps permit the rounding off of the ends of the seeds, whereas the Lyon 

 bean seeds are usually flattened at the ends by mutual pressure. For 

 five seeds, the maximum excess of the hybrids over the Lyon bean thus 

 is 2 mm. 



In 191 1 the six first -generation plants were more or less frosted. Only 

 three 5-seeded pods were measured, averaging 98 mm. 



To sum up, the average length of the 5-seeded pods of the first-genera- 

 tion plants is probably less than 2 mm. above that of the Lyon bean. 



SECOND GENERATION 



In Table V are given the frequency arrays of the average lengths of 

 the ripe 5-seeded pods of the plants with white shoots of the second 

 generations of the reciprocal crosses. The plants with black shoots 

 (three-sixteenths of the whole) are not included, because they usually 

 either bore no pods or bore few pods on large plants and so had their 

 pod length physiologically increased. A trial showed that when all 



