INHERITANCE STUDIES IN PISUM. III. THE 
INHERITANCE OF HEIGHT IN PEAS* 
By OrLAND E. WHITE 
Brooklyn Botanic Garden 
As regards height, varieties of peas were classified by Mendel 
(*66) as either tall or dwarf. When these two types were crossed, 
the Е, generation was either as tall or taller than the tall parent. 
The Е, generation consisted of approximately 3 tall: 1 dwarf 
(actual proportions 787 tall : 277 dwarf, or 2.84 : 1). АП of the 
dwarf plants and approximately one third of the tall (28 out of 
100) bred true in Е;, while the remaining 72 Е, talls gave both 
talls and dwarfs in the ratio of 3:1. These results were inter- 
preted as demonstrating a one-factor difference between tall and 
dwarf varieties of peas. 
However, Bateson (205), Keeble and Pellew (то), Lock (205), 
and others found the inheritance of height in certain cases to be 
more complex than indicated by Mendel. A class more or less 
intermediate in height between dwarfs such as Nott's Excelsior 
and Little Marvel and such talls as Scotch Beauty, Champion of 
England, and Späte Gold was recognized, to which the name half- 
dwarf was applied. Such varieties as First of All, Velocity, and 
Express are excellent examples of this class. Bateson ('o5) says 
half-dwarfs are easily distinguished from talls, and lays particular 
emphasis on the zigzag growth of the stem as a marked char- 
acteristic of this group. If all varieties ranging in height from 
3.5 to 4 ог 4.5 feet are to be regarded as half-dwarfs, the above 
statement regarding zigzag growth, in the writer's experience, 
is only true of one group of half-dwarfs and these have short 
internodes, as noted later. Evidently Bateson's half-dwarfs are 
* бабаны а Bote Garden Conti votion No. 20. These studies on the genetics 
of P. he Office of Forage Crop Investigations 
and the Office of Horticultural and ese Investigations, U. S. Departme 
Agriculture. For other titles of this series, see "Literature Cited.” 
316 
