I have recently moved into...
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I have recently moved into the heart of Ohio farmland. Every window frames a view of fields planted in corn, soybeans, wheat and grasses. At community gatherings I hear the farmers compare experiences of planting, maintaining and harvesting crops which in these modern times are labeled in a language foreign to me. "CG-137 gave a good yield, but a longer season. I switched to GH-
543 this year." Seed catalogues arrive with promises of larger, hardier tomatoes. I wonder where this began and my mind goes back to fourth grade science and Gregor Mendel's peas. Born in 1822 to a poor farm family, Mendel was educated as family finances and his ability to work allowed. A particular love was working in the fruit orchard his father had planted. He entered a monastery in 1843, in hopes of continuing his education. Assigned to teach, in his spare time he experimented with peas as a method of testing plant hybridization. For years he planted and tended his pea plants outside the monastery library, finally publishing his results in 1866. No one noticed. His experiments continued until his death in 1884. It wasn't until 1900 that several naturalists found Mendel's work, independently of one another, and realized that it substantiated their own. -- Kelly
543 this year." Seed catalogues arrive with promises of larger, hardier tomatoes. I wonder where this began and my mind goes back to fourth grade science and Gregor Mendel's peas. Born in 1822 to a poor farm family, Mendel was educated as family finances and his ability to work allowed. A particular love was working in the fruit orchard his father had planted. He entered a monastery in 1843, in hopes of continuing his education. Assigned to teach, in his spare time he experimented with peas as a method of testing plant hybridization. For years he planted and tended his pea plants outside the monastery library, finally publishing his results in 1866. No one noticed. His experiments continued until his death in 1884. It wasn't until 1900 that several naturalists found Mendel's work, independently of one another, and realized that it substantiated their own. -- Kelly
