28o THE GERM-PLASM 



In neither instance, however, does the preponderance of the 

 father, as regards a single character, necessitate that all the 

 other characteristics will be controlled to the same degree 

 by this parent. The germ-plasm consists of an equal number 

 of paternal and maternal idants and ids, which remains 

 constant throughout ontogeny. We suppose that every id of 

 the germ-plasm contains all the determinants of the species, e.g., 

 the determinant a for the character A, the determinant b for the 

 character B, and so on. But all ids of the germ-plasm need 

 not contain a number of homodynamous determinants only ; for 

 if id i, for instance, contains the determinant a'^, id ii may per- 

 haps contain the determinant a^ for the homologous character, 

 and id iii the determinant a^, id iv the determinant a'^, and so 

 on. There is no reason why id i, in which the determinant a^ 

 represents the character A, should not contain the determinant 

 b^ instead of b for the character homologous io B. If we denote 

 the determinants of corresponding characters — i.e., those which 

 may become substituted for one another — by the same letters, a 

 certain id of the germ-plasm — e.g., id i — might contain the de- 

 terminants a^, b'^, c\ d% e^yf^,g^, h^, i^, &c. If in the germ-plasm 

 of the father id i, id ii, id iii, id iv^, and so on to the last, which 

 I will call id xx, all contain the determinant a'^ for the character 

 A, and none of the variants ^^ a^, &c., are present in them, 

 this determinant a^ will be more pow^erful than any other 

 variant of a derived from the mother, which may exist in the 

 idioplasm of the cell in question, provided that the total number 

 of each of these variants is less than twenty. Hence the char- 

 acter A'^ will be impressed on that particular cell, or group of 

 cells, and not A- or A^. The case may be entirely different as 

 regards the character B ; the determinant b^ or b'^, for instance, 

 may be the dominant one in most of the ids and idants : and in 

 this case, one of the other variants of B, such as B^ or B'^, will 

 be produced. 



If we may compare the groups of paternal and maternal 

 idants to two centres of force each of which attempts to obtain 

 control over the cell, each of these two forces will be determined 

 by the individual forces of the idants in which they are con- 

 tained, while the force in each idant will be controlled, by the 

 individual forces of the ids of which it is composed. If, for 

 instance, there are two idants derived from each parent, each 

 consisting of ten ids, the following considerations would enable 



