Jones: Inheritance of Silkiness in Fowls 



12^ 



A SILKY BIRD FROM CROSSBRED PARENTS 



This second generation cock is from the mating of the two first generation crossbreds (Xos. 

 5 and 6) shown in Fig. 11. One such silky bird to three normally feathered ones resulted from this 

 mating, which shows the recessive nature of silkiness to normal plumage. Nos. 5 and 6, as has 

 been stated, were obtained from crossing the sporadic silky hen lA with a normally feathered 

 White Leghorn cock. (Fig. 15.) 



normals to 11 silkies, which is as close 

 as possible to expectation (33 . 75 : 

 11.25). 



A backcross was made by mating lA 

 back to her son 3K (or No. 6 in 

 Fig. 11). Twelve birds on which plum- 

 age condition could be told were reared ; 

 five of these had normal feathers and 

 six silky, where equality was expected. 

 One of the normally feathered individ- 

 uals is shown in Fig. 14. 



The preceding data on the relation 

 of the plumage of the sporadic silky 



to that of normal plumage show it, like 

 the plumage of the purebred Silky, 

 to be a simple Mendelian recessive. 



RELATIOX OF THE SPORADIC SILKY's 



PLUMAGE TO THAT OF THE 



SILKY FOWL 



The next step was to ascertain 

 whether sporadic silkiness is caused 

 by the same factor that produces silki- 

 ness in the purebred. To initiate such 

 a test reciprocal crosses were made of 

 purebred Silkies on purebred White 



