6 GENETICS [Bot. Absts. 



31. Daxfortii, C. H. The developmental relations of brachydactyly in the domestic fowl. 

 Amcr. Jour. Anat. 25: 97-116. 5 fig. Mar. 15, 1919. — Writer finds close correlation between 

 booting of shanks and brachydactyly (reduction in size and number of bones in fourth, and 

 sometimes third toe) in at least certain strains of fowls, and probably also pigeons. A rooster 

 which was heterozygous in dominant characters, booting, brachydactyly, Polydactyly and 

 broad comb (walnut) was crossed with white Leghorn hens of strain in which these traits had 

 been wholly absent. Polydactyly and broad comb (walnut or rose) segregated out, among 

 the chicks, independently of each other and of booted shanks and brachydactyly. The latter 

 two characters, however, were almost perfectly correlated. The fact that there was correlation 

 in degrees of booting and brachydactyly as well as in their mere presence, is taken to indicate 

 that relation is physiological rather than one of genetic linkage. A study of the embryology 

 revealed that brachydactyly could often be recognized at the ninth day of incubation, before 

 the laying down of all of the cartilages of the phalanges (tenth day) and before the appearance 

 of down rudiments (eleventh day). Author considers that neither condition can be a direct 

 cause of the other but that there is some common factor. He suggests that study of the early 

 functioning of endocrine glands might throw some light on the question. — Sewall Wright. 



32. Davenport, C. B. Annual report of the Director of the Department of Experimental 

 Evolution and of the Eugenics Record Office. Carnegie Inst. Washington Year Book 17 (1918) : 

 103-126. 1919.— Many of staff and assistants have been in war work but special effort has 

 been made to maintain breeding strains.— Riddle experimented on pigeons with drugs urotro- 

 pin and quinine to note effects on development and sex; results not given. Analysis of brains 

 of supposedly ataxic pigeons showed them "chemically undifferentiated or juvenile;" this 

 line of work may throw light on chemistry of hereditary mental diseases. — Banta reports find- 

 ing sex intergrades in additional lines of Daphnia longispina; selection within sex intergrade 

 strains to produce more normal females or more decidedly sex-intergrading ones proved fairly 

 effective. Banta discusses earlier evidence pointing to causal effects of environment on 

 appearance of males or on shifting of degree of sex intergrades. — Metz reports discovery of 

 several new mutant characters in Drosophila virilis and their linkage relations. Further analy- 

 sis of sex-linked characters in Drosophila virilis continue to show correspondence with sex chro- 

 mosome condition in D. ampelophila. — -MacDowell's experiments show that rats of non-alco- 

 holic parentage are superior to offspring of alcoholic as revealed by memory and association 

 tests. Second generation of alcoholized rats average less than normals in weight, and number 

 of litters is scarcely half number born to normals.— Blakeslee's investigations mostly in 

 adzuki beans (Phaseolus radiatus) primarily a practical problem but some study of seed-color 

 may be of theoretic interest; 40 new lines of adzuki beans were introduced into his cultures; 

 a unifoliolate mutation occurred in one inbred line; chemical properties of beans and dietary 

 characteristics are being investigated by specialists. Dwarf Portulaca is a simple recessive, 

 and normal branch sports proved heterozygous, giving 3 normals : 1 dwarf. In Datura globe 

 mutant selfed or used as female parent with normal gives about 3 normals to 1 globe, while 

 normals X globes gives about 38 normals to 1 globe; mutant complex is only slightly trans- 

 mitted through pollen; no pure race of globes is yet obtained. Weeping habit in mulberry is a 

 simple Mcndelian recessive. — Harris investigated dry weight and water content of seedling 

 leaves of beans showing structural variation and found physiological differences accompany- 

 ing structural variations. Harris made studies in pure statistical theory, and on variation 

 and correlal ion in inilorescences of Spirea, sporophylls of Ficaria, depauperization of ascei 

 ants in relation to descendants in beans, vegetative characters in relation to fruit charactc 

 biometrical aspects of plot-testing and of egg-production. — A review is given of work of past 

 eight years of Eugenics Record Office, lately taken over by Carnegie Institution; it lias 

 become repository for pedigrees of better families and of t hose in custodial institutions; it has 

 accumulated a large index of separate inborn characteristics of American families; it has 

 traii.ed field workers and maintained a field force which has gathered eugenical data on 

 "Ishmael" tribe of Indiana, Amish sect, the "Xnnis" and "Jukes;" on color in albinos, and i:i 

 negro-white crosses: diseases of chorea and pellagra; consanguinity; Indian hybrids, human 



are, and hare lip: it has cooperated with other institutions, and advised on eugenic i] fit- 

 ness of proposed marriages. — J. P. Kelly. 



