SEED 241 



with great success to the breeding of wheat, 

 and as an example of the applications of his 

 law we may take the crossing of two wheats, 

 the one possessing a lax ear, and the other 

 an ear that is dense. When such wheats 

 are interbred they produce an offspring whose 

 ear stands intermediate between the cha- 

 racters of the two parents, that is to say, it 

 illustrates the law of blended inheritance, 

 When the individuals of this first generation, 

 showing intermediate characters, are allowed 

 to exercise self-fertilization, it is found that 

 in the next generation 25 per cent, of the 

 plants possess lax ears and will breed true, 

 that other 25 per cent, possess dense ears 

 and will also breed true, whereas 50 per cent, 

 of the plants possess ears that are inter- 

 mediate between laxness and denseness, 

 and these when self-fertilized do not breed 

 true, but produce offspring showing the same 

 percentages of laxness, denseness, and inter- 

 mediacy as was displayed in the second 

 generation. 



We can take the simpler case of pea breed- 

 ing from tall and dwarf parents to give a 

 general illustration of the law. The character 

 -in this case, dwarf ness that comes out 

 in the second generation in individuals that 

 breed true, and which was masked or obscured 



