168 THE MENDEL JOURNAL 



mulattoes married to mulattoes." We are informed 

 that this " can be stated quite dogmatically." There 

 is, however, one important qualification which we may 

 notice. It is the statement that among the offspring 

 of- mulatto parents " there are now and then slight 

 variations from the usual mulatto brown or mulatto 

 yellow." Then, in another part of his correspondence, 

 where the correspondent is dealing with the question of 

 reversions to the negro type, he writes : "Of course, in 

 families of the mixed breed you will often see a difference 

 in colour [the italics are his] pure and simple ; this is 

 not at all uncommon [the itahcs are ours], and I would 

 make a marked distinction betAveen this phenomenon 

 and that of a throwback to the negro." And Professor 

 Pearson adds to it b}'- remarking that : "I take it my cor- 

 respondent is here referring to the continuous variability 

 within the family." Now we will not further, at this 

 point, comment upon this fact further than to emphasize 

 the existence of variations, apparently not only in depth 

 or intensity of tint, but also in colour, and that these 

 variations are not at all uncommon. And, we wiJl at 

 once dissent from Professor Pearson's assumption that 

 these variations are manifestations of continuous varia- 

 bility. There is no evidence for that assumption ; and 

 his correspondent's own emphasizing of the important 

 fact, by italicising the word " colour," that there exist 

 actual differences, not merely of tint, but of colour, 

 among mulattoes, directly points to the conclusion 

 that we are deahng with discontinuous variations and 

 with segregation. In other words, with a Mendelian 

 phenomenon. 



We come next to the offspring resulting from a 

 cross of mulatto with an European. It appears that 

 the quadroon which thus results is " invariably 

 fighter in colour than the brown mulatto, and in 90 per 

 cent, of the cases is Avhiter than the yeUow mulatto. 

 Pure white skins do not occur in quadroons. This 

 statement is dogmatic and true." We need make one 

 comment only now. There appears to exist the same 

 sort of variation among quadroons that there does among 

 mulattoes, as is shown by the implication that about 

 10 per cent, are darker than the rest. 



