SEX INHERITANCE 91 



the female; the difference is a single or a double 

 amount of the so-called sex factor. The chromo- 

 somes are the carriers of these sex factors. The 

 symbols used here, viz., XX-XY and WZ-ZZ, are 

 intended primarily for the chromosomes, but also 

 for the sex factors. 



These formulae for the Drosophila type and for 

 the Abraxas type raise the question as to whether 

 the postulated sex factors are identical in the two 

 cases. The employment of different letters for the 

 two types suggests, of course, that the sex factors 

 may be different. And it is true that the two sets 

 of letters are used to avoid an apparent paradox 

 that appears if we use only X and Y in both cases. 

 If this is done, XY on one scheme represents the 

 male and on the other scheme the female. Never- 

 theless, for the present the employment of different 

 letters need not necessarily mean that different, 

 factors for sex are present in the two great classes, 

 for these reverse results may be due to the action of 

 the same factor-difference in a different setting. 

 For example, acid may be the color differentiator in 

 a setting of a certain solution containing it and htmus 

 (with one drop of acid the color being blue, with 

 two drops red) , but in a setting containing Congo 

 red the same differentiator may produce just the 

 opposite effects (one drop red, two drops blue). On 

 the other hand, it is conceivable that the setting (lit- 

 mus and acid) may remain the same and yet a reverse 

 result be produced by having a different differentiator 

 — alkali instead of acid. 



