No. 566] INHERITANCE IN EARS OF MAIZE 



The first account, so far as I am aware, of the inherit- 

 ance of the striking somatic variations so commonly found 

 in variegated plants was given by de Vries 2 in his dis- 

 cussion of ever-sporting varieties. The study was made 

 in the years from 1892 to 1896 with a variety of Antir- 

 rhinum with striped flowers. De Vries ? s records are re- 

 produced diagrammatically in Fig. 1. 



Of these results de Vries says : 



From these figures it is manifest that the red and striped types differ 

 from one another not only in their visible attributes, but also in the 

 degree of their heredity. The striped individuals repeat their peculiarity 

 in 90-98 per cent, of their progeny. 2-10 per cent, sporting into the uni- 

 form red color. On the other hand, the red individuals are constant in 

 71-84 per cent, of their offspring, while 16-29 per cent, go over to the 

 striped type. Or in one word : both types are inherited to a high degree, 

 but the striped type is more strictly inherited than the red one. 



De Vries 's results were in some respects very similar 

 to those of Correns and it is probable that he would have 

 interpreted them in the same way had he then been famil- 

 iar with Mendelian phenomena. 



2 Vries, Hugo de, "Species and Varieties," pp. 309-328 (1905). 



