326 TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY REPORT. 
It is now believed that variations which occurred in the bean crop 
for 1882, and which were credited at the time to impurities 
in the seed secured from the seedsmen, were probably due 
to cross fertilization, being instances of what is known as xenia. 
This opinion is based on the fact that the crop of 1883 showed 
unmistakable signs of cross breeding. Fifteen varieties are given 
in which these variations occurred, with detailed description. 
The same year this work was extended and to quote the investi- 
gator, “almost the entire list of garden plants offered by our 
American seedsmen, as well as many others from foreign places ”’ 
were planted “ with other objects in view than the mere comparison 
of the yields and the qualities.” The principal object of the in- 
vestigation is “to discover how many of the so-called varieties 
planted are really distinct and how many are only synonyms.” 
Reference is made to similar work?® having been done by Mr. Fear- 
ing Burr, Jr., of this country, and M. Louis Vilmorin of Paris. 
Lists are given of numerous varieties of twenty-five vegetables, 
with the date of planting, date of appearance above ground, and 
length of time elapsing before edible portion of plant was fit for 
use, also the yield. The synonyms are given under each vegetable 
separately. The author indicates that, in some instances at least, 
it is not easy to determine whether two given varieties are strictly 
identical or merely similar. The varieties tested are particularly 
numerous and the subsequent discussion particularly full in the 
case of tomatoes and peas. 
In the case of tomatoes the test included sixty-four named sam- 
ples. The tomatoes were found particularly difficult for the detec- 
tion of synonymy. Certain varieties were found to be “ exactly 
similar in appearance”’ but with a different ripening period. 
The “trial list of peas embraced seventy so-called varieties.” 
Seven names are believed to be synonyms, and one or two other 
varieties resemble each other so closely as to leave the writer in 
doubt whether they are not identical. This test of peas includes an 
investigation “to ascertain how much may be gained in the earli- 
ness of peas by selecting the earliest pods for seed.” It was found 
that there was a 14% per ct. increase in the germinations of the earlier 
ripening peas as compared with the later ones. The earlier ripen- 
ing peas were also fit for the table earlier by an average of five 
*°Garden Vegetables and How to Cultivate Them, by Fearing Burr, Jr., 
1866. 
