400 
ORLAND E. WHITE 
together as a single mutation, it would be interesting to know whether 
they were inherited together, and whether the white cob color was 
also dominant over the red from which it sprung. Owing to ratio 
discrepancies, and the occurrence of traces of yellow in descendants 
of seeds classed as pure white, Collins regards the segregation of yellow 
and white endosperm color as incomplete or imperfect. In other 
words, factor contamination has occurred, though, in general, Men- 
delian ratios were obtained. Interpreting his results as showing the 
presence of at least two factors for yellow color and perhaps more, 
Collins regards as both "violent" and unwarranted. East (6, p. 
404-405) however, in reviewing this paper, interprets Collin's data as 
demonstrating the presence of two factors for yellow endosperm color, 
one of which is much less effective in producing the yellow color than the 
other. East discredits the mutative reversal of dominance interpreta- 
tion, suggesting the appearance of the original wholly white ear as due 
to non-development of color brought about by abnormal environmental 
causes, such as, perhaps, the ''accidental presence" of some metallic 
salt in the soil. This suppression of color development, East intimates, 
is not extremely rare in experimental corn cultures. 
New Data 
The material consisted of an inbred strain of California Golden 
Pop with yellow endosperm and a strain of white endosperm maize 
obtained from Haage & Schmidt under the name of Zea Caragua} 
The latter bred true to a white endosperm intermediate between 
flour and corneous in texture. A white endosperm variety of Hopi 
maize, isolated from seed obtained from G. N. Collins, was also used. 
In classifying the colors of the and F3 seeds, three methods were 
used — (i) each seed as classified on the ear, was picked off and trans- 
ferred to a black velvet background and contrasted either with the 
parental varieties or with other pure white and yellow races; (2) most 
of the seeds were classified independently by the writer and his assistant 
Miss M. Mann; (3) both the writer and Miss Mann reclassified many 
of the F2 and F3 ears twice, first by re-examining both the yellow and 
white groupings of each ear and second by mixing the two color 
groups together again and reselecting. In each reclassification, the 
ratios resulting from previous classifications were unknown. These 
determinations were fairly accurate as demonstrated by the F2 classi- 
2 Described by Sturtevant (11). Apparently an old variety desseminated in 
Europe by Vilmorin. 
