No. 566] 



INHERITANCE IN EARS OF MAIZE 



95 



Besides these 23 ears, 20 other selfed ears from homo- 

 zygous plants contained only narrow-striped seeds from 

 which there were produced 16 plants with red ears, 280 

 with variegated ears, and none with white ears. Similarly 

 21 selfed ears with narrow-striped seeds only, from plants 

 that were heterozygous for pericarp color, produced 28 

 plants with red ears, 411 with variegated ears, and 208 

 with non-red 6 ears. Variously colored grains from 42 

 self-pollinated, heterozygous, variegated ears gave the 

 following results : 



In the progenies of these 63 self-pollinated ears that 

 were heterozygous for pericarp color, there were approxi- 

 mately 2.5 plants with pericarp color to one without it. 

 All the classes of grains from self-red to non-red yielded 

 both colored and non-colored ears, thus indicating, as 

 already shown by East and Hayes, that the somatic varia- 

 tion in the seeds does not change their hybrid character. 

 Considering only the plants with pericarp color, in the 

 progenies of both heterozygous and homozygous varie- 

 gated ears, 106 progenies in all, marked differences are 

 seen in the percentages of self-red ears from seeds of the 

 different color classes, as follows : 



6 Some of these ears had what I hare termed ' ' half -red ' ' pericarp, t. e., 

 pericarp with a reddish color extending part way from the base to the 

 "own of the seeds. (See Ann. Ept. Nebr. Agr. Expt. Sta., 24: 62. 1911.) 

 Half-red differs from self-red and variegated red not only in distribution 

 but also in almost never developing fully in the heterozygous condition. It 

 is hypostatic to self -red, but shows between the red stripes of variegated 

 seeds. Since its presence does not mask either self-red or variegated-red 

 and since it is strictly allelomorph ic to both of them, half -red is here in- 

 cluded with non-red. Variegated ears have never, in my observation, pro- 



7 Some of these were half -red. See footnote 6.) 



