40 
curator of plant breeding. In addition, the various varieties and 
species of poppies have been made the subject of a preliminary 
survey in order to determine their fitness as suitable material for 
the elucidation of certain problems in the field of heredity. 
The studies on peas, castor beans, and corn have yielded a large 
amount of data concerning inheritance in plants and by extension, 
inheritance in general. Part of these data have been made avail- 
able to those especially interested, and to the general public, 
through the publication and reading of the papers mentioned in 
Appendices 1 and 2. 
Peas have furnished by far the best material for theoretical 
studies, and in collaboration with the Bureau of Plant Industry 
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, between two and three 
hundred of the most distinct varieties and species have been as- 
sembled. Among these are all the described wild and semi-wild 
forms from the original home of the pea in southern Europe, 
western Asia, and northern Africa. Especially peculiar and 
interesting forms have been secured from the Lebanon moun- 
tains, the Abyssinian plateau, and the dry hot regions of western 
China. Greenhouse and field cultures of these various kinds have 
been grown from year to year, from which dried specimens, 
representing the numerous forms in all stages of growth have 
been obtained. Pure strains have been isolated from these cul- 
tures and pedigree records of them kept. Thousands of suc- 
cessful crosses between these varieties and species were made last 
spring, the results of which eventually mean thousands of new 
varieties, some of which may have decided commercial value. 
Studies on the inheritance of the complex group of characters 
which determine the various differences in productiveness among 
pea varieties are being especially emphasized, as well as the rela- 
tion of different environments to this problem. Pea varieties 
differ in productiveness enormously when grown under approxi- 
mately the same conditions. Some varieties have only 2-4 small 
pods per single plant, while other varieties average over 100 large 
pods per plant. Single plants have been reported with as high 
as 650 pods averaging 5 peas per pod. Eventually through these 
studies it is hoped to make known the manner of inheritance of 
