No. 644] INHERITANCE OF PLUMAGE COLOR 



247 



chicks were born from one mating. These were chiefly 

 white in the down with black spots on the crown and neck 

 and black quills in the wings. They resembled very dark 

 Columbian chicks. These developed adult plumage dif- 

 ferent from the other chicks in this cross and could not 

 be classified either as Columbians or buffs. Additional 

 factors which have not been identified were probably 

 contributed by one of the White Wyandotte males and 

 further reference to these birds will therefore be post- 

 poned until more information is obtained. Omitting 

 these, the salient fact concerning this cross is the pro- 

 duction of only two classes of chicks, white (Columbian) 

 and buff in equal numbers. The White Wyandotte males 

 bred, therefore, like ¥^ hybrids between Columbian and 

 buff and were undoubtedly heterozygous in the gene for 

 the restriction of buff. As adults the offspring of this 

 cross were indistinguishable in color from the offspring 

 of the heterozygous Light Brahma male first used in 

 crosses with buffs. The amount of black in the hackles 

 of these birds appeared to be somewhat greater than in 

 the offspring of the Light Brahma cross, but it was not 

 sufficient to serve as a distinguishing mark. White Wy- 

 andottes, therefore, may carry a gene for the restriction 

 of buff which is probably the same as the gene found in 

 Light Brahmas and Columbian Wyandottes.^ It is not 

 demonstrable, of course, except in crosses of White Wy- 

 andotte s with colored fowls which supply the dominant 

 gene C for the development of pigment. 



In addition to these three instances of the occurrence 

 of a gene for restriction of buff there are numerous 

 other cases in the literature in which the difference be- 

 tween buff (or red) and wliite in certain i)arts of the 

 plumage is apparently due to the same n'one or one with 

 similar effects. Davenport iwn-l) found a sex-linked dif- 



Eobinson (1921), p. 42V''The pnttoru (!..■.. (\)luinlu.-ni ) uns n'.so j.roJu.-pd 



