Mendel seized on the reprieve, "Ahh, yes, thank you Brother Joseph, in luxuriant plants this appearance was frequently noted. Seeds which are damaged by insects during their development often vary in color and form."
"But it does not influence the experienced experimenter, does it?" insisted Brother Joseph, determined to end the humiliation of his friend and co-experimenter.
"Indeed not," said Mendel, "with a little practice in sorting, errors are easily avoided. It is almost superfluous to mention that the pods must remain on the plants until they are thoroughly ripened and have become dried, since it is only then that the shape and color of the seed are fully developed."
But the damage had been done and Brother Timothy was not going to let Mendel off that lightly. "Herr Grunewald," Brother Timothy turned to the German textile manufacturer, "am I not right in thinking that the numbers of plants reported in experiments one and two are too small to have statistical significance?" This question woke up the distinguished member, who had been showing more interest in his cigar than in the latter part of the paper.
"Hummmp, indeed yes," he replied, "the numbers, yes, the numbers. I warned you Brother Gregory." He wagged his gloved finger at the unfortunate Monk. "You ignore the numbers at your peril. How can you determine anything of significance from 43 peas?" He looked around the audience for confirmation. About half the faces looking back at him knew enough about mathematics and the importance of statistics to nod in agreement. Mendel's numbers in experiments one and two had been far too small to allow for serious deductions. Other faces showed doubt. They belonged to the naturalists, like Napp, who were more interested in the biological consequences of Mendel's discoveries and were increasingly dismayed that the discussion was bogging down in the arcane world of fractions and ratios. Neither group, however, seemed pleased at the current position of Mendel's paper and his results.
Sensing the mood of the members, Vice President Theimer jumped to his feet and faced the audience. "Yes, indeed, Brother Gregory has given us a lot to think about this evening." He rubbed his hands together, "I have a suggestion. Today is February 8th, there is no speaker scheduled for our meeting on March 8th, why don't we ask Brother Gregory to return on that date, with all his data, and we will hear his reply to Brother Timothy and Herr Grunewald?" There was a murmur of agreement around the room, accompanied by louder sounds of agreement from Brother Matthew and teacher Makytta. It was cold and most of the audience just wanted to go home. For the rest, they needed time to think about what Mendel had said and what it all meant. Perhaps next month the monk would clarify some of the issues raised by Brother Timothy. It was a good solution.
"Good, then we are adjourned for this evening," said Theimer and began to clap his hands in reward of the speaker. A few others joined in, but their applause was almost drowned out by the scraping of chairs as stiff listeners finally got to their feet. Several members of the audience came forward to speak to Mendel. Their traditional phrases of gentle congratulation were noticeably weak. Brother Matthew, Thomas Makytta and Brother Joseph clustered round him and their praise was clear and most sincere. Even Grunewald made a move to approach Mendel, but his progress was blocked by Brother Timothy who intercepted him and began to talk about Monastery business.