PRACTICAL QUESTIONS 205 



the seeds of this hybrid, they produced white-flowered 

 plants and red-flowered plants in the proportion of 3 to 1. 

 In the future, the one fourth that were red continued to 

 produce only reds ; but of the three fourths that were 

 white, only one third produced whites in succeeding gen- 

 erations. The remaining two thirds of the whites (or one 

 half of all) were hybrids which behaved in following gen- 

 erations precisely as the first hybrid did. There were no 

 red and white peas. The colors did not blend. So, too, in 

 crossing very long and very short stemmed peas, Mendel 

 found that the hybrids were longer than the long-stemmed 

 parent ; but in the next generation forms appeared that 

 were shorter than the short-stemmed parent, and the 

 short and long stems were always in a definite propor- 

 tion. Crossing did not blend the length and shortness 

 of the parent plants, but it did show how to intensify the 

 original qualities. 



These experiments have had a remarkable influence on 

 recent methods of making improvements in both plants 

 and animals. As soon as the breeder has determined 

 what is a unit character in the plants he is working with, 

 he may feel sure that crosses will not produce blends in 

 it, and he will see a possible way to intensify it. 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS 



1. What is plant breeding? 2. What are some of the things 

 that plant breeding has accomplished? 3. Give a short account of 

 Luther Burbank. 4. What part in the making of new plants do 

 the stamens and pistils play? 5. How may undesirable pollen be 

 kept from a flower? 6. What effect does the removal of a few 

 flowers have on those remaining? 7. Give one way in which a 

 breeder can increase the yield of corn per acre. 8. Suppose there 

 is an increased yield of corn in the United States equal to five bushels 

 to the acre, to what extent would it enrich our farmers? 9. Give 

 the composition of an average bushel of corn. 10. Why is corn 



