192 BREEDING 



hybrid generation be identical in appearance and in 

 its breeding properties with a green of a pure strain. 

 Yet these two are identical, as will be shown on p. 

 236. Both Mendel's and Weismann's are " germinal " 

 theories of inheritance. Mendel's a particular, and 

 Weismann's a general one, on the basis of which 

 Mendel's is erected. And Weismann's general 

 doctrine receives strong support from the fact 

 that the predictions based on Mendel's theory are 

 fulfilled. 



Mendelian inquiry does more than afford evi- 

 dence of the truth of Weismann's general theory ; it 

 fills in the details of the general theory of heredity 

 outlined in charcoal by Weismann. As has already 

 been said, Weismann was the first to point out that 

 the problem of heredity was to find out how the 

 characters of an organism were represented in the 

 germ-cells which produced it. Weismann showed what 

 the question was. Mendelian inquiry is slowly build- 

 ing up an answer to it. And already, in the ten 

 years which have elapsed since Mendel's papers were 

 discovered, a rich store of information relating to 

 the manner in which characters are represented in 

 the germ- cells has been accumulated. I have en- 

 deavoured thus briefly to indicate what I conceive 

 to be the real nature of the respective parts played by 

 Mendel and Weismann in building up our modern 

 conception of heredity, because it is often com- 

 plained that credit which is due to Mendel is given 

 to Weismann, and that ideas which are described as 

 Mendelian were really introduced by Weismann. 



