LUTHER BURBANK 



from them next season (if self -fertilized) will 

 show interesting varieties and recombinations of 

 the various qualities. There will be some kernels 

 that are plump and yellow, others that are plump 

 and white; some that are wrinkled and yellow, 

 others that are wrinkled and white. 



And there is exceptional interest in the fact 

 that these different types of kernels may appear 

 on the same ear, and that they will exist in a 

 predictable mathematical proportion. In accord- 

 ance with Mendelian principles there will be 

 three yellow kernels to one white, and three plump 

 ones to one wrinkled. But further breeding ex- 

 periments would show that two out of three plump 

 kernels carry the wrinkled condition as a recessive 

 trait, and that two out of three of the yellow ones 

 carry whiteness as a recessive trait. This can 

 be proved by planting the kernels and observing 

 their progeny in another season. 



The experiment thus carried out will come to 

 have the fascination of a game of chance, but un- 

 like most games of chance, it will well repay the 

 effort bestowed upon it. 



Incidentally, in the course of such an experi- 

 ment, you will probably be able to develop new 

 varieties of sweet corn that will meet with ap- 

 proval on the table, at the same time that you are 

 finding entertainment in a game at heredity in 

 which you co-operate with nature and direct her 

 forces. 



[120] 



