Balanced Crosses 283 



for instance, the dark " Mephisto " with the 

 white-hearted " Danebrog," the hybrid shows 

 the active character of the dark pattern. 



Hairy species crossed with their smooth 

 varieties produce hairy hybrids, as in some 

 wheats, in the campion {Lychnis), in Biscutella 

 and others. The same holds good for the 

 crosses between spiny species and their un- 

 armed derivatives, as in the thorn-apple, the 

 corn-crowfoot {Ranunculus arvensis) and 

 others. 



Lack of starch in seeds is observed in some 

 varieties of corn and of peas. When such de- 

 rivatives are crossed with ordinary starch-pro- 

 ducing types, the starch prevails in the hybrid. 



It would take too much time to give further 

 examples. But there is still one point which 

 should be insisted upon. It is not the systema- 

 tic relation of the two parents of a cross, that 

 is decisive, but only the occurrence of the same 

 quality, in the one in an active, and in the other 

 in an inactive condition. Hence, whenever this 

 relation occurs between the parents of a cross, 

 the active quality prevails in the hybrid, even 

 when the parents differ from each other in 

 other respects so as to be distinguished as sys- 

 tematic species. The white and red campions 

 give a red hybrid, the black and pale henbane 

 {Hyoscyamus niger and H. pallidus) give a hy- 



