360 



The Journal of Heredity 



lock obtained this ear has not been used 

 since that time. The ear, therefore, is 

 at least 300 years old and, of course, 

 may be much older. It is not unlike 

 ears of maize that have been received 

 from time to time from various parts 

 of South America, and is of some in- 

 terest in this connection. 



Defective seeds as a heritable char- 

 acter of maize were reported first by 

 Jones. ^ More recently Lindstrom^ and 

 Mangelsdorf" have reported on other 

 specific types of defective seeds, and 

 many additional types are known. In 

 fact, among the most common and ap- 

 parent efifects of self-pollinating maize 

 for the first time are ears showing 

 segregation for some type of defective 

 seeds. 



In view of these facts it seems of 

 special interest that the Rontoy ear 

 contains several defective seeds, one 

 of which is shown in each of the illus- 

 trations. These seeds apparently are 

 of the type that has been called "com- 

 pressed" when it has occurred in the 

 author's strains, although a disinclina- 

 tion to dissect the Rontoy ear has pre- 

 vented a very close examination. On 

 segregating ears these "compressed 



seeds" observed by the author, are evi- 

 dent only by their smaller size. Their 

 classification is difficult because of in- 

 tergrades due either to normal dififer- 

 ences in kernel size, the complimentary 

 action of genetic factors, or both of 

 these causes. A study of the mode 

 of their inheritance has not been at- 

 tempted by the author beyond obtain- 

 ing definite evidence that they are in- 

 herited. 



Is the gene that was responsible for 

 the defective seeds in the Rontoy ear 

 the same as one of the many known 

 to exist at present? Has it persisted 

 individually in the germ-plasm through- 

 out the countless generations since the 

 Rontoy strain and our modern sorts 

 were one? Or has it been eliminated 

 by natural selection only to recur from 

 time to time as a mutation? These 

 and other questions are interesting 

 bases for speculation, but, unfortunate- 

 ly lead nowhere. The fact remains, 

 however, that maize grown by the In- 

 dians of Peru 300 or more years ago 

 carried defective seeds entirely similar 

 phenotypically to some of those found 

 today whenever maize is self pollinated. 



Literature Cited 



^ Jones, D. F. Heritable Characters of Maize: Defective Seeds. Journal of Heredity, 

 11:161-166. 1920. 



^LiNDSTROM, E. W. Endosperm Defects in Maize. Journal of Hereditv, 14:127-135. 

 1923. 



^Mangelsdorf, P. C. Defective Seeds in Maize. Journal of Heredity, 14:119-125. 1923. 



The Changing Environment 



A poll of sixth-grade pupils in St. 

 Louis revealed that of 5,376 children 

 questioned 40 per cent had never seen 

 a sheep, and 17 per cent had never 



looked upon a pig. Of every hundred 

 children, 13 had never seen a cow. It 

 has been suggested that a cow and a 

 pig be placed in the municipal zoo. 



Dearborn Independent. 



