CONFIRMATIONS OF MENDEL'S LAWS 355 



now established for a large number of cases of most dissimilar 

 characters." 



In experimenting with Lychnis, Atropa, and Datura, Bateson 

 and Saunders found that the phenomena conformed with Mendel's 

 law " with considerable accuracy, and no exceptions that do 

 not appear to be merely fortuitous were discovered. In the 

 case of Matthiola (garden stock), the phenomena are much 

 more complex. There are simple cases which follow Mendelian 

 principles, but others of various kinds which apparently do 

 not. The latter cases fall into fairly definite groups, but 

 their nature is obscure." 



In experiments with poultry, the phenomena of dominance 

 and recession were detected ; interbreeding of the hybrid 

 offspring resulted in a mixed progeny, " some presenting the 

 dominant, others the recessive character, in proportions following 

 Mendel's Law with fair consistency, though in certain cases dis- 

 turbing factors are to be suspected." 



The general result, so far, is that Mendel's Law has received 

 confirmation in a number of very dissimilar cases. 



Dominant and Recessive Characters. — Let us first of all 

 collect a number of instances of contrasted characters which 

 behave in relation to one another as dominants and recessives. 



