140 NEW JERSEY AGEICULTURAL COLLEGE 



SNAP BEAN CROSSES. 



Since the beginning of this work (1904), oveT one hundred 

 actual crosses have been made, the result of artificial pollination, 

 and represent more than fifty of the standard varieties. The 

 initial motive was the production of desirable new strains through 

 the process of systematic breeding. As a practical result seeds of 

 two new wax and one green-podded variety have been sent out for 

 testing. They are "Station Snap" beans (1,), (2) and (3) ; (1) 

 being '*' Jones'' Stringless"-"Golden Wax" (131/130), (2) "Long- 

 fellow"-"Marrowfat" (26/29) and (3) "Golden Scimitar"- 

 "Davis" (129/111). A white seeded sort is repiresented in each 

 case, this being one selected from each cross, and the reason for 

 this lies in the fact that a dark bean shows its color when cooked 

 and renders the dish less attractive. 



The seeds of P. vulgaris present good material for the study of 

 color inheritance by reason of their many color markings, the 

 principal ones being black, brown, red, yellow and white, besides 

 various mottlings. When black and white seeded sorts are united, 

 the result (blend) is usually a dark mottled bean. In the first 

 generation (white and black) the colors usually break up into 

 three types, those reprresenting the two parents and mottled. In 

 the union between a black or a white and a dark-eyed strain, four 

 different markings at least may be expected, black (or white) 

 mottled, mottled eye and dark eye. One cross in particular 

 ("C^rystal Wax"-"Market Wax" 145/135) is of interest from this 

 standpoint, alone representing the union of a white and a light 

 brown seed. The blends were quite uniformly ''dark-mottled" and 

 a large number of plants were obtained in the first generation, 

 yielding seed which showed a remarkable variation in respect to its 

 markings. These were classed as "Black," "Brown," "White," 

 "Mottled-brown," "Light-brown" and "Grey." Each was planted 

 separately (1908) and the harvest recorded about 50 per cent., 

 adhering to type, being highest in case of the two parent colors 

 (white and light brown). Selection along the same line this year 

 points to a fixation of the six strains. 



