EXPERIMENT STATION REPORT. 239 



the "American" parent. Plate X l)ring-s to the eye a portion of 

 the plant, that is, an upper-face view of the foliage, that is least 

 unlike in the two species, but even here a blending is very evident, 

 particularly in texture, a feature that the camera does Hot easily 

 catch. 



Experiments with Peppers. 



The peppers occupied three plots of Series II and consisted 

 of 35 commercial varieties and a large number of crosses chiefly 

 in their second generation. The plants were all -l^elow the 

 average in size due to the severe drought that prevailed at the 

 time when the first blooms were beginning to appear. The sea- 

 son was somewhat prolonged by the nightly covering of selected 

 plants for special study. Many crosses were secured but with 

 peppers the flowers fall very badly when conditions for vigorous 

 growth are interrupted and therefore it is quite evident that 

 breeding with this crop can be carried forward more success- 

 fully under glass than in the open. 



Some of the records, consisting of weights and counts of many 

 thousands of fruits, etc., made upon the field crop, can not be 

 brought into shape in the brief time which elapses from the 

 harvest and the making of this report. 



The position of the eruits of peppers. 



Pepper fruits are quite easily divided into two groups, upon 

 the position of the fruits, whether they are ( i) upright or (2) 

 pendent. There are a few varieties in which neither of these 

 opposite positions are strictly adhered to and may be classed as 

 intermediates. However, these last, when the mature fruits 

 only are considered and particularly those first formed and there- 

 fore occupying positions in the angles of the main stems, are, 

 as a rule, either pendent or upright. 



The force of gravitation appears to have much to do with the 

 position of the pepper fruits. In the varieties that have the 

 fruits unquestionably upright, this position is maintained, as a 

 rule, whether the stem bearing them is either perpendicular or 

 horizontal or any angle between the two. The same is true 

 of the pendent group, that is, the position of the stem has but 

 little to do with that of the fruits. 



To one who is only viewing the subject in a casual manner, 

 it might seem that the above was quite otherwise, for one can 

 see plants with their fruit pointing in any direction. This is 

 probably due chiefly to the change in the position of the branches 



