The Inheritance of Quantitative Characters in Maize 7 
of Mendelian phenomena, and from the fact that the only indis- 
putable cases of non-inendelizing characters are (1) that dis- 
covered by Correns in Mirabilis jalapa, where a pathological con- 
dition affecting a leaf function is carried by the cytoplasm and 
inherited only thru the mother, and (2) that reported by Baur 
for Pelargonium zonale, in which vegetative segregates (sectorial 
chimeras) occur in Y r plants and breed true in F 2 . 
The acceptance of this point of view depends largely upon 
whether a correct interpretation of the inheritance of quantita- 
tive variations has been reached. The authors, therefore, desire 
to submit a somewhat complete discussion of the inheritance of 
this category of variations, supported by data from experiments 
on maize that have been gathered independently. If there be 
criticism that the conclusions drawn are too broad since the 
facts have been gathered from a single plant species, the authors 
may answer that each has made corroborative investigations 
upon other species which they expect to publish in the near 
future. 
The experiments conducted by one of the writers were begun 
at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station at New 
Haven in 1906 and removed to the Bussey Institution of Harvard 
University at Forest Hills, Massachusetts, in 1909. The ma- 
terials employed in this study consisted principally of crosses of 
Tom Thumb pop with Black Mexican sweet and of Watson flint 
with Learning dent. The number of rows per ear were noted in 
several other crosses, the parents of which are listed later in this 
paper. For help in gathering and compiling the data from these 
crosses, Ave are indebted to H. K. Hayes, plant breeder of the 
Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, and to O. E. 
White and D. L. Davis, graduate students in genetics at Harvard 
University. 
The experiments of the other writer were begun at the Ne- 
braska Agricultural Experiment Station at Lincoln in 1908. 
where they have been continued to the present time. A part of 
the material studied in 1911 was grown at the Bussey Institu- 
tion at Forest Hills, Massachusetts. The plants used in tins 
study were crosses of Tom Thumb pop with Missouri dent and 
of the latter variety with California pop. For assistance in con- 
nection with this work, we acknowledge our indebtedness to R. F. 
Howard, now assistant horticulturist of the Wisconsin Agricul- 
tural Experiment Station, to F. C. Miles, graduate student in 
genetics at the University of Nebraska, to E. H. Herminghans. 
student assistant, and particularly to E. R. Ewing, who has com- 
puted most of the statistical constants from the data obtained 
from the Nebraska experiments. 
