MENDELISM AND SEX 147 



The scheme by means of which we have thus 

 endeavoured to give a consistent statement of the 

 seemingly remarkable and apparently incoherent 

 experimental facts is one which we owe to Professor 

 Bateson and Mr. R. C. Punnett. 



One feature of a general but very important 

 nature remains to be considered. The grossulariata 

 individuals used in the experiments were taken 

 wild. And in the cross of the male of this with 

 the female lacticolor variety, all the offspring, as 

 we have seen, were grossulariata. This fact indi- 

 cates that the wild male grossulariata is pure with 

 regard to that character. But quite recently, 

 Doncaster has made the reciprocal cross, 

 namely, wild female grossulariata with certain male 

 lacticolor s bred in the course of the experiments. 

 The offspring consists of males grossulariata and 

 females lacticolor. As Professor Bateson points out* 

 this is a striking result, and is not only a confirmation 

 of the validity of his scheme of interpretation, which 

 was framed before this fact was known, but it leads 

 to a most important and far-reaching conclusion. 

 Because clearly it means that the wild female grossu- 

 lariata moths living in districts where the lacticolor 

 variety is unknown, are in reality hybrids of lacticolor, 

 carrying that character recessive. The males, as we 

 have seen, are pure grossulariata. For hundreds of 

 generations, possibly, the lacticolor variety has been 

 in existence, hidden recessive in the females of the 



* MendtVs Principles of Heredity — Cambridge. 



