122 GENETICS 



In blending inheritance the offspring are seen to 

 be unlike either parent, because the parental deter- 

 miners fuse into a new thing. In alternative in- 

 heritance, on the contrary, the offspring may be 

 like either parent, since the characters in question do 

 not lose their individuality upon union, as shown in 

 the diagram. Only one or the other of the two 



BLENDING ALTERNATIVE PARTICIPATE 



Characteristics /^*\ 

 of parental I \ 



FIG. 41. Three .kinds of inheritance described by Galton. 



mutually exclusive characters thus becomes effective 

 in determining the nature of each offspring. 



Finally, in particulate inheritance the double 

 germplasm which determines a new individual may 

 be imagined to undergo a diagonal rather than a 

 vertical cleavage upon maturation, thereby causing 

 unblended fragments of both parental characters 

 to become effective at once, in this manner producing 

 a mosaic offspring. 



