62 HEREDITY AND EUGENICS 



in man, the white lock occurred only in males, but 

 was transmitted through females, skipping a generation 

 in each case. 



A much more interesting and extensive pedigree 

 of a white lock family is given by Miller (191 5). In 

 this familv the condition has been traced throucfh 

 six generations, including 203 individuals. Dr. W. B. 

 Little, whose mother is known to have had the lock, 

 emigrated from Carhsle, England, to New Brunswick, 

 Canada, about 1824, and his descendants through 

 four generations show the w^hite lock or flare. Some 

 members of the family also have one or more colour- 

 less spots on their bodies. The condition behaves as 

 a simple dominant, since in families with one normal 



Fig. II. — Family showing a White Forelock. 



and one marked parent the num.bers were fifty-one 

 normal and forty-five with the flare (where equality 

 would be expected) ; and where both parents are 

 norm.al all the children are the same. This family 

 traces its origin back through the Percys and Morti- 

 mers to Edward III. That the white lock is, at least, 

 as old as the family of Harrv (Hotspur) Percy is 

 know^n b}^ the tradition that the white lock originated 

 in connection with his death at the battle of Shrews- 

 bury in 1403. When the news of his death reached 

 his wife, she is said to have swooned and to have 

 given birth shortly afterwards to a son bearing a 

 white patch on his forehead. One member of the 

 famity has found from other records that the patch 



