Experiments in plant hybridisation / Mendel's original paper in English translation, with commentary and assessment by Sir Ronald A. Fisher, together with a reprint of W. Bateson's biographical notice of Mendel ; edited by J.H. Bennett.

  • Mendel, Gregor, 1822-1884. Versuche über Pflanzenhybriden. English
Date:
[1965]
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Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Credit: Experiments in plant hybridisation / Mendel's original paper in English translation, with commentary and assessment by Sir Ronald A. Fisher, together with a reprint of W. Bateson's biographical notice of Mendel ; edited by J.H. Bennett. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Mendel's paper II 3. DIVISION AND ARRANGEMENT OF THE EXPERIMENTS If two plants which differ constantly in one or several characters be crossed, numerous experiments have demon¬ strated that the common characters are transmitted unchanged to the hybrids and their progeny ; but each pair of differentiating characters, on the other hand, unite in the hybrid to form a new character, which in the progeny of the hybrid is usually variable. The object of the experiment was to observe these variations in the case of each pair of differentiating characters, and to deduce the law according to which they appear in the successive generations. The experiment resolves itself therefore into just as many separate experiments as there are constantly differentiating characters presented in the experimental plants. The various forms of Peas selected for crossing showed differences in the length and colour of the stem; in the size and form of the leaves ; in the position, colour, and size of the flowers; in the length of the flower stalk; in the colour, form, and size of the pods ; in the form and size of the seeds ; and in the colour of the seed-coats and of the albumen [cotyledons]. Some of the characters noted do not permit of a sharp and cer¬ tain separation, since the difference is of a more or less nature, which is often difficult to define. Such characters could not be utilised for the separate experiments; these could only be applied to characters which stand out clearly and definitely in the plants. Lastly, the result must show whether they, in their entirety, observe a regular behaviour in their hybrid unions, and whether from these facts any conclusion can be come to regarding those characters which possess a sub¬ ordinate significance in the type. The characters which were selected for experiment relate: 1. To the difference in the form of the ripe seeds. These are either round or roundish, the depressions, if any, occur on the surface, being always only shallow; or they are irregularly angular and deeply wrinkled {P. quadratum). 2. To the difference in the colour of the seed albumen [endo¬ sperm].* The albumen of the ripe seeds is either pale yellow, * [Mendel uses the terms albumen and endosperm somewhat loosely to denote the cotyledons, containing food-material, within the seed.]