236 MENDELISM 



The Fj plants produced grains all of which were 

 fully as hard as those of the Manitoba variety. 



These grains were sown, and it was found that some of 

 the resulting plants produced strong grains and others 

 weak ones, and that the former were to the latter very 

 nearly in the numerical ratio of 3:1. Actually they 

 were as 152 : 48 in a sample of 200 taken at random. 



In order to obtain confirmation of this most impor- 

 tant result, Biffen sent samples of the grains borne 

 by the F 2 plants to a well-known authority on milling 

 wheats, requesting his judgment upon them, but with- 

 out telling him their manner of origin. The answer 

 was even more satisfactory than could possibly have 

 been anticipated. Certain of the samples were stated 

 by the expert to belong to the variety Red Fife, 

 which is the name of the particular strain of Manitoba 

 Hard originally made use of in the experiments, 

 whilst others were assigned to a definite strain of 

 ordinary weak English wheat. The segregation of 

 these characters was, therefore, complete, strength 

 being a Mendelian dominant to weakness. 



In the next generation certain of the dominant 

 plants, as was to be expected, bred true, and amongst 

 them were individuals which combined with strength 

 of grain the other desirable qualities of the second 

 parent. The problem has, therefore, been completely 

 solved, and there can be little doubt that whe,n these 

 new types are brought into general cultivation the 

 profit obtainable from the growing of wheat in this 

 country will be increased by several shillings to the 

 acre of crop grown. < 



