ON PEAS AND BEANS 



most peas to the pod, the most pods to the vines, 

 had the most uniformly filled pods, and in all re- 

 spects was the most productive and best; on the 

 whole, the best pea, taking quality, quantity, and 

 everything into consideration, which I have ever 

 seen. They are fifteen per cent smaller on the 

 average. One other thing which I have added to 

 them is that they are sweeter than the pea which 

 you first sent me. They all came from one single 

 vine which was the best in all respects and the 

 seed has been reselected through six generations." 



MULTIPLYING THE NEW VARIETY 

 Of course, the selected pea, as thus produced, 

 existed only in small quantities. But it had been 

 fixed as to type and could be depended on to breed 

 absolutely true. It \vas necessary, however, for 

 the company to multiply the seed for a number 

 of years before there was enough of it in existence 

 to use for the purposes of the canner. By growing 

 the crops in California, however, where from two 

 to four crops could be raised each year, and by 

 using the entire product for the seed in successive 

 years, the progeny of the single vine from which 

 I developed the new variety had been multiplied 

 by 1912 so that material enough was at last in 

 hand to plant hundreds of acres and supply the 

 cannery with the small, sweet, uniform-sized and 

 uniform-ripening pea that was desired. 



[81] 



