254 A TEXT-BOOK OF BOTANY 



When the seeds formed in this way germinate, they produce 

 plants that are called hybrids', that is, plants whose two 

 parents belong to different species or races. The hybrid 

 usually shows some combination of the characters of both 

 parents, but it may be very different from either. 



In this way new kinds of plants often arise in nature, 

 and advantage is taken of this fact to produce new forms in 

 cultivation. This cross-pollination between plants of differ- 

 ent kinds, resulting in cross-fertilization, is usually spoken 

 of simply as crossing, and the use of crossing in producing 

 new forms will be spoken of more fully in the chapter on 

 plant breeding. An illustration of what is meant by hybrids 

 may be obtained from corn. There are several races of 

 corn that differ in the color of the grains, which are white, 

 yellow, red, or lead-colored. If a white race be crossed 

 with a red race, the resulting ears will be hybrids, and will 

 very likely show both colors in the same ear. When the 

 grains are sown and produce new plants, these plants are 

 hybrids and will show resemblances to both parents. 



