The Seed Characters of Pisum sativum. 
227 
The precise nature of the connexion between the form of the 
starch and the character of the seed as regards smoothness or the 
reverse is unknown. The wrinkled seeds, as compared with the 
round, possess a sensibly greater amount of cell-contents other than 
starch. Denaiffe 1 has observed that wrinkled seeds take up more 
water on germination than do the round seeds. Mr. Bateson’s 
breeding experiments had led one to expect, however, that the 
“ indented ” types with coloured flowers would be found to possess 
reserves of the same type as the round seeds. This has proved to 
be the case. 
The following is a list of the races the seeds of which, through 
the kindness of Mr. Bateson, I was enabled to examine :— 
Race. 
Express 
Fill basket 
Tres nain de Bretagne - 
Maple (purple flowered) - 
Carter’s Telegraph - 
Victoria Marrow 
Field Pea (purple flowered) 
Purple Sugar Pea 
Sutton’s Purple-podded Pea 
William the First - 
Telephone 
Laxton’s Alpha 
Serpette nain blanc 
Dark Jubilee - 
Early Giant - 
British Oueen 
Windsor Castle 
In certain races, seeds of intermediate or dubious shapes are 
not uncommon. The depressions in these seeds are sometimes mere 
pitting , as in Victoria Marrow, or they may be so marked that the 
seeds would be described as wrinkled. The latter are especially 
common in William the First. Microscopic examination showed at 
once that these seeds are really of the round type. There are there¬ 
fore two entirely distinct forms of wrinkling ; and while it is cleat 
that the process by which the wrinkling is produced is connected 
with shrinkage on drying, the regularity of the shrinking in the 
round type, and its irregularity in the two other types cannot at 
present be explained. 
l L,es pois potagers, p. 9. 
Seed Character 
Round 
11 
11 
11 
11 
Indent 
11 
(see below) 
Wrinkled 
11 
11 
11 
Form of Starch. 
Large 
Small 
