BUD VARIATIONS 79 



example, the addition of petals, or the change of other flower 

 organs to petals are merely changes affecting the internal 

 correlation of growth, in the sense used by plant physiologists. 

 In these cases there is simply an abnormal cell division at a 

 critical point, so that there are two organs laid down instead 

 of one. There is neither the addition nor the loss of an 

 actual character. 



The production of variegated plants is also a common 

 occurrence. These phenomena apparentlv belong to the 

 same general class as the production of "mosaic" or 

 "calicoed" tobacco plants; and the latter condition we know 

 can be communicated by touch. It is probably that some, 

 at least, of the cases of variegation will prove to be 

 pathological. 



After discarding representatives of these two classes, 

 a random sample of one hundred cases of bud variation 

 showed about eighty cases that beyond a reasonable doubt 

 yield to the following h\^othesis : 



In the large majority of cases of bud variation there 

 has simply been the loss of a dominant character, and hence 

 the appearance of a related recessive character. 



In making this statement, use is made of Bateson's 

 theory that there is either "presence" or "absence" of certain 

 factors, in the Mendelian phenomena. As an example, con- 

 sider the "starchy" character of dent maize, contrasted 

 with the appearance of "sweet" maise due to its inability 

 to mature its starch. When there is presence of the dent 

 character in the germ cell, we have the characteristic appear- 

 ance of such varieties. In the absence of the dent character, 

 the endosperm may be said to ripen, but not to mature, and 

 there is left the appearance peculiar to sweet maize. We can 

 imagine the leaving behind of just such a character in bud 

 variation, and the appearance of the recessive allelomorph. 

 In some cases there is absolute disappearance of the dominant 

 character, and it never again appears; in other cases there 

 appears to be a latency of the dominant character, and 



