294 



The Journal of Heredity 



unusual nervous disturbance was far 

 too small for any simple Menclelian 

 explanation, certainly; for, although 

 Waltscr was bred to as many related 

 females as possible, and the progeny 

 were mated back to him and together 

 among themselves, only one other in- 

 dividual with anything of his char- 

 acteristic behavior was obtained. The 

 records do not show at what age 

 Waltscr began his dancing, but the 

 cases of paralysis apparently did not 

 come on until the rabbits were several 

 months old. Since many of the 

 youngsters died or were disposed of 

 at an early age this might result in a 

 considerable number of potentially 

 defective individuals never reaching 

 record. Finally the supposition that 

 such disturbances as were found are 

 to be attributed to the treatment of 

 14.1 and 20.2 is at most presumption, 

 for it is possible that there was a 

 latent nervous defect in the original 

 stock when obtained. 



All in all, however, we are inclined 

 to feel there is a fair presumption 

 that the behavior of Waltzer and the 

 other affections may be attributed at 

 least indirectly to either the lead or 

 the alcohol treatment, and that they 

 were probably the result of some 

 germinal effect, but one of a rather 

 general nature, not specific, at least 



in its manifestation. At any rate, the 

 data seem to establish that while the 

 waltzing of this rabbit resembled 

 closely that of the mouse and rat, it 

 certainly does not seem to be the 

 same in inheritance. To what extent 

 the circus movements induced in rats 

 by rotation resemble in inheritance 

 those found in nature we do not 

 know, but the findings of Griffith, as 

 presented by Detlefsen," show a high 

 incidence of circus movements among 

 the descendants of rats which have 

 been rotated. 



Waltser lived to the ripe old age 

 (for a rabbit) of five years and ten 

 months. In the latter part of his life 

 he became less active and did not 

 "dance" so frequently. In the last 

 three months he was seen to whirl in 

 his characteristic manner only once, 

 and this was when he had fallen a 

 distance of nearly five feet from his 

 cage to the floor, which apparently 

 excited him to the point of losing 

 nervous control — if that is what his 

 whirling signified. The poor fellow 

 finally had an infection causing a 

 swelling of his head and neck and 

 involving his eye, and it seemed an 

 act of mercy to put him out of his 

 misery. At most, he probably could 

 not have lived more than a few days, 

 or possibly weeks, longer. 



^At Toronto meeting of the American Society of Naturalists, December 29, 1921. 



