[72] The varieties used were Express, Laxton’s Alpha, Fillbasket, McLean’s Blue Peter, Serpette nain blanc, British Queen, très nain de Bretagne, Sabre, mange-tout Debarbieux, and a large “grey” sugar-pea, pois sans parchemin géant à très large cosse. Not counting the last two, five are round and three are wrinkled. As to cotyledons, six have yellow and four have green. In about 80 crosses I saw no exception to dominance of yellow; but one apparently clear case of dominance of wrinkled and some doubtful ones.
[73] Professor Weldon may take this as a famous blow for Mendel, till he realizes what is meant by Mendel’s “Hybrid-character.”
[74] In addition to those spoken of later, where the great difference between reciprocals is due to the maternal characters of the seeds.
[75] I have not here considered the case in which male and female elements of a pure variety are not homologous and the variety is a permanent monomorphic “mule.” Such a phenomenon, when present, will prove itself in reciprocal crossing. I know no such case in peas for certain.
[76] It will be understood that a “mule” form is quite distinct from what is generally described as a “blend.” One certain criterion of the “mule” form is the fact that it cannot be fixed, see p. 25. There is little doubt that Laxton had such a “mule” form when he speaks of “the remarkably fine but unfixable pea, Evolution.” J. R. Hort. Soc. XII. 1890, p. 37 (v. infra).
[77] Using the word metaphorically.
[78] “Ueber die Blüthezeit der Hybriden sind die Versuche noch nicht abgeschlossen. So viel kann indessen schon angegeben werden, dass dieselbe fast genau in der Mitte zwischen jener der Samen- und Pollenpflanze steht, und die Entwicklung der Hybriden bezüglich dieses Merkmales wahrscheinlich in der nämlichen Weise erfolgt, wie es für die übrigen Merkmale der Fall ist.” Mendel, p. 23.
[79] As has been already shown the discovery could have been made equally well and possibly with greater rapidity in a case in which the hybrid had a character distinct from either parent. The cases that would not have given a clear result are those where there is irregular dominance of one or other parent.
[80] Weldon, p. 240.
[81] See p. 43.