THE BEARING OF TERATOLOGICAL DEVELOP- 

 MENT IN NICOTIANA ON THEORIES 

 OF HEREDITY 1 



ORLAND E. WHITE 

 Bussey Institution, Harvard University 

 It is desirable, though difficult, to atack genetic prob- 

 lems by both pedigree-culture and cytological methods. 

 It is desirable because the problems are viewed from 

 different standpoints; it is difficult because few forms 

 are especially favorable for either kind of work. The 

 present paper is a preliminary report upon certain char- 

 acters in a species fairly desirable from each point of 

 attack. 



Among plants teratological phenomena are common, 

 especially those known as fasciations, Masters 2 citing, 

 in 1869, 120 genera in which they were not infrequent. 



The term fasciation is a broad one and includes, from 

 a genetic standpoint, some very different phenomena. 

 At least two distinct kinds of variation are now empha- 

 sized in genetic work, somatic and germinal, although 

 often it is impossible to distinguish between them ex- 

 cept by experimental cultures. Fasciation is a phenom- 

 enon of variation in which both types occur, though the 

 evidence on this point is not all that could be desired. 

 All observers agree that the fasciated character is con- 

 stant and heritable in such races as Celosia cristata 8 

 (cockscomb), Pisum sativum umbellatum, 4 Sedum re- 

 flexum cristata* some races of Zea mays and Nicotiana 



Harvard University. 7 



1 Masters, M. T., "Vegetable Teratology," pp. 9-21, London, 1869. 



•De Vries, H., "The Mutation Theory," 2: 68, 516-519, 1910; also 

 Lynch, Irwin, "Evolution of Plants," Journ. Eoy. Tlort. Soc, 25: 17-31, 

 1900. 



4 De Vries, H., ibid., p. 513, 1910. See also Lynch, I., ibid. 

 'Masters, M. T., ibid., pp. 18-19, 1869. 



•East, E. M., and H. K. Hayes, "Inheritance in Maize," Conn. Agr. 

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