THE FAMILY OF GRASSES 351 



The investigation through which Professor 

 Biffen was enabled to develop an immune race 

 of wheat in a few generations promises to be of 

 immense economic importance. The story of 

 this development is too important not to be told 

 in some detail. 



In order to understand Professor Biffen's 

 success in developing an immune race of wheat, 

 it is necessary to review briefly the preliminary 

 studies through which he familiarized himself 

 with the hereditary characteristics of the wheat 

 plant. 



Professor Biffen had given attention to the 

 development of the wheat through the ordinary 

 methods of selection as early as 1900, and before 

 anything had been heard of the researches of 

 Mendel, which, as we have elsewhere pointed out, 

 were quite unknown to anyone after the death of 

 Mendel himself in 1884 until about the begin- 

 ning of our new century. But he had not pro- 

 ceeded far before three observers, De Vries, 

 Correns, and Tschermak, independently discov- 

 ered and made known the forgotten work 

 of Mendel, and, as Professor Biffen himself 

 says, "changed the whole aspect of his 

 problem." 



It was at once obvious to Professor Biffen 

 that wheat offers opportunity for hybridizing 



