76 COAT CHARACTERS IN GUINEA-PIGS AND RABBITS. 



(4) Some recessive individuals are prepotent, for their gametes, 

 when united with those of ordinary dominants, produce young of an 

 intermediate character. These intermediates, however, have the power 

 to transmit the full dominant character in matings with recessive indi- 

 viduals. There is reason to believe, accordingly, that the dominant 

 character is in such cases, not partially latent, but partially dominated. 

 If so, we have in cases if this sort something remotely resembling 

 the alternative dominance seen in certain of the crosses among 1 silk 



o 



moths made by Coutagne ( : 02). 



(5) The lop-eared condition in rabbits is probably a non-Mendelian 

 character in its relation to normal ear ; for the children and grand- 

 children produced by crosses are apparently alike intermediate in 

 character. 



(6) A cross between two different types of albino rabbits, Himalayan 

 and pure white, shows imperfect dominance of the Himalayan character 

 in the offspring, but complete segregation among their gametes. 



(7) Cross-breeding between dominant and recessive individuals 

 may lead to the production of new sorts of individuals in a variety of 

 ways, e.g., (i) by producing new combinations among different pairs 

 of alternative characters, as among the children of triple-hybrid guinea- 

 pigs ; (2) probably by causing a complex character, like the agouti coat 

 of guinea-pigs, to break up into its elements black, chocolate, and yel- 

 low one or more of the elementary pigment characters either becoming 

 latent or passing bodily out of the gamete ; (3) by the coming into 

 activity of elements of the dominant character which were latent in 

 recessive gametes, as black latent in albino guinea-pigs or in Himalayan 

 rabbits (see next report) ; (4) by inducing variability in the intensity of 

 characters, quite aside from resolution and recombination of characters, 

 as when red cross-bred with black produces a very light shade of red, 

 e. g., yellow or cream. 



