G. Vererbungslehre. 307 



through six generations. The affection behaves as a Mendelian dominant over 

 the normal; it appears in 52 per cent. of the offspring. It arose, apparently, 

 as a mutation or „sport", consists in the reduction of phalanx 2 of the digits, 

 which is usually fused with phalanx 3. It occurs in both hands and feet, is 

 associated whith short stature (averaging 8 V2 inches [21,5 cm] less than the 

 normal in males), but with good health, and high fertility. 



Doncaster (Cambridge). 



849) Pocock, It. I., On Tabby Cats, and some features in the in- 

 heritance of their coat patterns and colour. 



(Mendel. Journal 2. p. 53—73. 2 plates. 1911.) 

 Describes the two common types of „tabby" marking in cats, the „stri- 

 ped", and „blotched" tabby. These two are discontinuous, may occur in the 

 same litter, and are possibly a Mendelian allelomorphic pair. A summary is 

 given of other types of colour in domestic cats, and the origin of the domestic 

 cat is discussed. The striped tabby resembles in pattern both F. sylvestris 

 (F. catus) and F. ocreata. Probably the domestic cat was derived from 

 the latter, possibly crossed with the former in Europe. No wild cat resembles 

 the blotched tabby and this form probably arose since its domestication. When 

 the European wild cat is crossed with the African, only striped kittens result. 



Doncaster (Cambridge). 



850) Bonliote, J. L., On the Inheritance of the "Webfoot Character 

 in Pigeons. 



(Proc. Zool. Soc. Part. I. p. 14—19. 1911.) 



Previous observers have shown that the character webfoot in pigeons 

 is recessive to the normal foot. Additional cases of this are given. But when 

 webfooted individuals of two strains were mated together, although the cha- 

 racter had been a simple recessive in each strain, four out of five of the off- 

 spring were normal. Among the descendents of this cross between two 

 distinct web-footed strains, whether two webfooted birds or two normals were 

 mated together, in nearly all cases both normal and webfooted offspring were 

 produced. It appears therefore that a character which behaves as a normal 

 recessive when birds of common stock are mated together, may give quite 

 unconformable results when birds belonging to different Stocks are interbred. 

 No explanation of the results is offered. Doncaster (Cambridge). 



851) Gregory, R. P. (Cambridge University), Experiments with Pri- 

 mula sinensis. 



(Journal of Genetics 1,2. p. 73—132. 3 Plates. 1911.) 



It is impossible to summarise this important paper in a short space. The 

 most important facts established are the following. Long style is recessive to 

 short style, but in the plants raised from self-fertilised heterozygotes there 

 is a deficiency of short-styled. On the other hand, the same plants crossed 

 with long-styled give an excess of short-styled offspring. 



Absence or deficiency of colour in both fiowers and stems may be due 

 to absence of colour-factors (recessive whites) or to inhibiting factors (domi- 

 nant whites). In the flower there are at least three such inhibitors, with 

 different distribution — a peripheral, causing white in the peripheral parts 

 of the corolla, a central, causing absence of pigment in the central parts, 

 Stigma etc., and a factor which suppresses the yellow eye. These may exist 

 separately or together. There are also factors which partially suppress co- 

 lour, giving dominant pale forms. Further, there are also inhibiting factors 

 which affect both fiowers and stems, or which may be separate for flower 



