CHAPTER VII 



THE RELATION BETWEEN CHARACTERS BELONGING TO 



DISTINCT PAIRS 



The reader is already familiar with the relation 

 between two characters of the same pair, such as 

 yellowness and greenness of the cotyledons ; that is 

 to say, with the results which follow when an indi- 

 vidual bearing one character of a pair (yellow) is 

 crossed with one bearing the other member of the 

 same pair (green). The question to be dealt with now 

 is the relation between members of distinct pairs 

 of characters, such as yellowness of cotyledons, be- 

 longing to one pair of characters, and roundness 

 or wrinkledness belonging to another pair. A proper 

 understanding of this relation is of great practical 

 value, because it enables the breeder to effect the 

 combination of desirable characteristics existing in 

 distinct strains with great swiftness and precision. 



The nature of this relation will at once become 

 apparent when the result of a cross between two 

 individuals v/hich differ from one another in respect 

 of characters which belong to two pairs of characters 

 has been described. For this purpose I shall describe 

 the result of a cross between a pea with wrinkled 

 yellow cotyledons, and a pea with round green ones. 

 Let the exact nature of this cross be clearly under- 



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