562 PLANT BREEDING 
features of the two plants used in the cross. Since Mendel’s 
discoveries have furnished principles that make it possible to 
interpret the behavior of hybrids, one can proceed with consid- 
erable certainty. As to just how the factors introduced by the 
sperm and egg will manifest themselves in the offspring resulting 
from a cross is not known until the offspring appear. The char- 
acters, whether they blend or behave as dominants and recessives, 
are identified only by observations of the hybrid generations. The 
hybrid may be like one parent in some features and like the other 
parent in other features, or in size and some other characters it 
may be intermediate between the two parents. According to 
Mendel’s law, we can expect three kinds of individuals in the 
F, generation when one pair of contrasting characters is con- 
sidered, and that the pure dominants and pure recessives will 
breed true whether one or many pairs of characters are taken 
into account. The pure dominants and pure recessives can be 
identified by further breeding, and if they prove to be more 
desirable than the varieties used in the cross, then by propa- 
gating them a more desirable race or variety is established. 
In case one wishes to bring together in one individual a number 
of desirable characters, some of which are present in one variety 
and some in another, the breeding process to obtain the indi- 
viduals pure for these characters is complex, as was shown in 
the discussion of Mendelism, and the more factors involved, the 
more complex is the process. But Mendel’s law points the 
way of procedure, and it is possible for the patient plant breeder 
to so manipulate the breeding through a number of generations 
as to finally obtain a combination of the desirable characters in 
an individual that will breed true. The desired individual hav- 
ing been secured, the new race or variety is practically estab- 
lished. Much has been accomplished in improving plants 
through hybridization. For example, in this way a much more 
desirable race of Wheat has been obtained in England. One 
variety of English Wheat, yielding well but producing a poor 
grade of flour, was crossed with a variety of Canadian Wheat, 
which produces a good grade of flour but does not yield so well 
in the English climate as the English variety. The plant breeder 
finally succeeded in getting a race having the desirable features 
of producing good flour and yielding well in the English climate 
By crossing Wheat, having some desirable qualities but sus. 
