BLENDED INHERITANCE 



in 



seen in some plant hybrids, where the offspring shows in leat- 

 venation, in size of epidermic cells, in number of stomata, in 

 length of style, in degree of hairiness, and so on, what seems 

 like an accurate mean of the two parents. Prof. J. M. Macfarlane 

 has given some beautifully precise data regarding the blending 

 of characters in plant hybrids. 

 When in any given character of the offspring we can detect 



A. <B. 'C 



Fig. 24. — Leaves cf Willow : A, of one parent ; C, of the other parent ; 

 B, of the hybrid intermediate between them. (After Wiesner.) 



both maternal and paternal peculiarities, we call the inheritance 

 blended ; but there may be quantitatively more of the maternal 

 quality or of the paternal quality expressed, and then we say 

 that in the blended inheritance or in its expression one of the 

 two parents is prepotent. An increase in the predominance of 

 the characteristics of one parent leads to the second common 

 mode of inheritance, which we call exclusive. 



