Das Ergebniss der Befruchtung lässt sich dadurch anschaulich machen, dass die Bezeichnungen für die verbundenen Keim- und Pollenzellen in Bruchform angesetzt werden, und zwar für die Pollenzellen über, für die Keimzellen unter dem Striche.
The result of the fertilisation can be illustrated by means of putting the designations for the conjoined germ- and pollen cells in the form of fractions, with the pollen cells above, and the germ cells below the line.
illustrate = anschaulich machen Bateson has “made clear”, Sherwood “visualized”. Sherwood’s rather free translation — anschaulich may, but does not have to imply visual representation — is quite adequate, since the “formula” presented in the next sentence makes no mathematical sense and is again a diagram.
by putting […] in the form of fractions = dadurch […], dass […] in Bruchform […] angesetzt werden While the terminology is clearly arithmetical, Mendel’s aim is to illustrate the possible combinations that germ- and pollen cells may enter in fertilisation. He is using fraction notation for that purpose only, as indicated by the fact that he does not refer to actual fractions, but “the form of fractions (Bruchform)” only. Here, and in the following, Mendel is neither carrying out actual mathematical operations, nor does he claim that these operations bear a direct relationship to the actual biological process thus illustrated. Hence the emphasis on the “result of the fertilisation”, not the actual process, which is represented in the diagram of the previous sentence.
germ cells = Keimzellen See p. 24, s. 4.
conjoined = verbundenen See p. 10, s. 14.