HERITABLE CHARACTERS OF MAIZE 
I. LINEATE LEAVES 
Description and Classification of Lineate Plants—Value of Maize as Material 
for Investigation, and Economic Importance of Discovering Latent Variations 
G. N. Couiins and J. H. Kempton 
Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington, D. C. 
“ | SHE practice of withholding the 
description of new characters 
until their genetic behavior has 
been thoroughly investigated, 
though sometimes desirable, is leading 
to much unnecessary duplication of 
work, and is delaying the progress of 
knowledge of inheritance in maize. 
The present article is the first of a 
series in which it is planned to describe 
and illustrate the heritable variations 
of maize as they arise or are discovered. 
In order to lessen as far as possible 
the number of places in which the new 
characters of this one species are 
published, and, with the idea of facilitat- 
ing reference, it is proposed to inaugu- 
rate a numbered series. The liberal 
policy of the JourNAL oF HEREDITY 
toward the use of illustrations makes it 
an especially suitable medium for the 
publication of short articles of this 
kind in which photographs play an 
important part. It was, furthermore, 
in The American Breeders Magazine, 
the precursor of the present journal, 
that a number of new characters of 
maize were first published by R. A. 
Emerson. It is to be hoped that 
other workers with maize will find this 
a convenient place in which to publish 
illustrations and brief descriptions of 
their discoveries. 
Abnormalities in maize are of such 
frequent occurrence that it is of course 
impracticable and probably undesirable 
to attempt to describe individual varia- 
tions. As soon, however, as it has 
been demonstrated that a character is 
inherited and a stock of seed capable 
of reproducing the character has been 
secured, it seems desirable to have the 
variations brought to the attention of 
other workers. Once attention has 
been directed to a variation it is less 
likely to be overlooked, and the in- 
stances where the same variation occurs 
in unrelated stocks are sooner recognized. 
IMPORTANCE OF INVESTIGATIONS IN 
MAIZE 
Our knowledge of the interrelation 
of Mendelian characters should proceed 
with increasing rapidity as the number 
of such characters increases. If the 
linear arrangement of characters in 
inheritance should be found to hold for 
maize as for Drosophila, the proper 
location of a new character becomes 
easier as the number of characters 
whose location is known increases. 
Although a majority of the heritable 
differences in maize are of such a 
complex nature as to make Mendelian 
analysis difficult or impossible, alter- 
native characters are coming to light 
in such numbers as to warrant the belief 
that maize will rival Drosophila as 
material for the investigation of the 
linear arrangement of factors and of 
chromosomes as the bearers of the 
determinats of characters. A knowl- 
edge of the variations latent in the 
commercial varieties of maize is further- 
more of great economic importance, 
since most of the variant forms are 
less productive than the normal forms, 
and they must be recognized to be 
eliminated. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE LINEATE PLANTS 
The character here described, which 
is designated ‘‘lineate leaves,’’ consists 
of a very fine striping on the blades of 
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