THEORIES AND CONCLUSIONS 



prominent characteristics of the parent dis- 

 closed in the offspring, as color of flower, 

 length of stem, shape of leaves, form of seed, 

 arrangement of flowers, and so on. Certain 

 other parental characters he called "recessive," 

 appearing in lesser number in the new 

 plant, or disappearing altogether. These char- 

 acteristics appeared in the offspring in an 

 invariable ratio, that of three to one. Seventy- 

 five per cent of the characters of the new 

 plant, — form, color, development and so on, 

 would be "dominant," twenty-five per cent 

 would be "recessive." The recessive char- 

 acters thereafter bred true, but the dominant 

 ones produced progeny one-third genuine 

 dominant, — which also bred true to their 

 own type, and two-thirds cross-breeds, the 

 latter, when self-fertilized, giving out the 

 old ratio of seventy-five per cent "dominant" 

 characters, twenty-five per cent "recessive." 

 These "laws," so-called, would provide 

 means for determining in advance what 

 results would follow in the breeding of 

 plants; and, if carried forward into animal- 

 breeding, would be of inconceivable value. 

 Quite generally throughout Europe these 



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