VT.] DATA. 81
exactly the same weight ; those in K being the heaviest., L the next heaviest, and so down to Q, which was the lightest. The precise weights are given in Appendix C, together with the. corresponding diameters, which I ascertained by laying 100 peas of the same weight in a row. The weights run in an arithmetic series, having a common average difference of 0.172 grain. I do not of course profess to work to thousandths of a grain, though I did work to somewhat less than one hundredth of a grain ; therefore the third decimal place represents little more than an arithmetical working value which has to be regarded in multiplications, lest an error of sensible importance should be introduced by its neglect. Curiously enough, the diameters were found also to run approximately in an arithmetic series, owing, I suppose, to the misshape and corrugations of the smaller seeds, which gave them a larger diameter than if they had been plumped out into spheres. All this is shown in the Appendix, where it will be seen that I was justified in sorting the seeds by the convenient method of the balance and weights, and of accepting the weights as directly proportional to the mean diameters.
In each experiment, seven beds were prepared in parallel rows ; each was 12 feet wide and 5 feet long. Ten holes of 1 inch deep were dibbled at equal distances apart along each bed, and a single seed was put into each hole. The beds were then bushed over to keep off the birds. Minute instructions were given to ensure uniformity, which I need not repeat here. The end of all was that the seeds as they became ripe were
G
