18 ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE 



have the light color recessive. All children whose parents 

 have light-colored eyes also have light eyes; but, if one or 

 both parents have dark eyes, the children may have either 

 color, depending on whether the dark-eyed parent has the 

 light color recessive. 



The law of chance, on which all these results depend, 

 may be illustrated as follows: 



Put equal numbers of white and yellow kernels of corn 

 in a dish. Mix them up, then let two students each draw 

 without looking. Mark down the result of each pair drawn. 

 If a large enough number is used, the result will probably 

 have a ratio very close to: 



1 YY : 1 YW : 1 WY: 1 WW 

 or, YY : 2 YW : WW 



When more than two characters are considered, Mendel 

 found that each set of characters may be inherited inde- 

 pendently of the others. 



If a tall, red-blossomed, round pea is crossed with a 

 short, white-blossomed, angular one, we shall get the 

 following forms, besides hybrids, in each character: 



Tall, white, round. Short, white, round. 



Tall, red, round. Short, red, round. 



Tall, white, angular. Short, white, angular. 



Tall, red, angular. Short, red, angular. 



But to get any one of these kinds with each of the 

 characters pure would be a task for a professional 

 breeder. When we consider that each plant has very 

 many characters, we see what a complicated matter it 

 becomes. The great majority of the new forms will be 

 undesirable, but occasionally one may be good. We must 



