n6 MENDEL: 



may be asked, Why not grow these " strong " 

 American varieties in this country ? That, of 

 course, has been tried, but the result shows that 

 nearly all lose their quality and become as " weak " 

 as the English wheat. Some do not, and of these 

 the Red Fife is an example. But then these " strong" 

 wheats yield in England a smaller crop per acre, 

 and as a result the increased price which is ob- 

 tained for them does not make up for the dimin- 

 ished amount which is produced. Here was a case 

 in which experiments on Mendelian lines might 

 well be made, and they were conducted by Mr. 

 Biffen at the Experimental Farm of the Cam- 

 bridge University Agricultural Department. For 

 this purpose Manitoba Hard, a " strong " wheat, 

 was crossed with a typical English wheat Rough 

 Chaff. The result was the production of plants all 

 possessed of hard grains. The second generation 

 produced " strong " and " weak " grains in the 

 proportion of three to one. This, as we have seen, 

 is the classical Mendelian proportion, and it be- 

 came obvious that the weak was the recessive, the 

 strong the dominant character. But, as we have 

 already seen, in later generations certain of the 

 dominants will be pure forms, and when these 

 have been established, as can be done by several 

 series of growings, individuals will have been pro- 

 duced which will combine strength of grain with 

 the other desirable qualities of the second parent. 

 " The problem has, therefore, been completely 

 solved, and there can be little doubt that when 

 these new types are brought into general culti- 

 vation the profit obtainable from the growing of 



