THE INHEEITANCE OF A EECUEEING SOMATIC 
VAEIATION IN VAEIEGATED EAES 
OF MAIZE 1 
Br B. A. EMEBSOX 
Introduction 
The inheritance of variegation has special interest and 
importance in genetics. It is with forms of variegation 
that the only two certainly known cases of non-Mendelian 
inheritance have had to do. I refer to Baur's experiments 
with Pelargonium, in which crosses of green-leaved and 
white-leaved forms exhibited somatic segregations in F 1 
that bred true in later generations, and to Correns's work 
with Mirabilis, which showed green and white leaf color, 
to be inherited through the mother only. De Vries's con- 
ception of " ever-sporting' ' varieties was apparently 
founded largely upon the behavior of variegated flowers 
in pedigree cultures, from which he reached the conclusion 
that the variegated color pattern and the monochromatic 
condition arising from it as sports are non-Mendelian in 
inheritance. Correns, however, has shown that in Mira- 
bilis jalapa the inheritance of these sports is distinctly 
Mendelian, and the results of East and Hayes indicate the 
same for Zea mays. In this paper I shall present data 
from maize and attempt to show how they can be inter- 
preted in strictly Mendelian terms. 
Variegation is distinguished from other color patterns 
by its incorrigible irregularity. It is perhaps most often 
seen in the coloration of flowers and leaves but also occurs 
in fruits, seeds, stems, and even roots of various plants. 
i The experimental results reported here were presented at the Cleveland 
meeting of the American Society of Naturalists, January, 1913. 
BESEAECH BULLETIN NO. 4, AGE. EXP. STATION OF NEBE, 
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