Electron‐transparent dislocation‐free platelets of cadmium were deformed in tension parallel to the basal plane, inside an electron microscope, in the temperature range from +25° to −150°C. At high strain rates the crystals twinned. At low strain rates (≲10−2sec−1) the glide system depended on &agr;, the angle between the tensile axis and a close‐packing direction. For 0≤&agr;≲20° pyramidal glide on the (112¯2) [1¯1¯23] system occurred. For 20°≲&agr;≤30° a new glide system, (101¯1) [12¯10], was identified which has not yet been observed in large cadmium crystals. Edge dislocations with a ⅓[12¯10] Burgers vector moved across the entire crystal on (101¯1) planes without multiplying or forming obstacles to further glide. Occasionally, at high strain, fracture occurred on a (101¯1) plane. The observations suggested that, in the temperature range studied, the flow stress for (101¯1) [12¯10] glide was considerably lower than that for prismatic glide on the (101¯0) [12¯10] system, slightly higher than that for (112¯2) [1¯1¯23] glide, and independent of strain for a given temperature.