The Inheritance of a Somatic Variation in Maize 25 
consisting of say one half modified cells and one half un- 
modified ones, one half of the pericarp would be expected 
to show red color and the other half no color. It would 
be expected further that the chances of a particular 
gamete's arising from a modified or from an unmodified 
cell would be equal. If then one half of the gametes asso- 
ciated with these one-half-red grains arise from cells in 
which only one of the V factors has been changed to 8, 
one fourth of the gametes should carry S and three 
fourths should carry V, or one fourth one fourth V, and 
one half — , depending upon whether the ears concerned 
are homozygous or heterozygous for variegated pericarp. 
Such grains from homozygous ears should, therefore, 
whether selfed or crossed by white, yield about one red 
ear to three variegated ones. Similarly, from hetero- 
zygous ears, grains with one half their pericarp red should 
yield about one red to two variegated to one white if self- 
pollinated and one red to one variegated to two white if 
crossed by white. (This is on the assumption that no S 
factors are carried by the male gametes.) Let us assume 
that by lumping together all the seeds listed in the fore- 
going records as "more than one half red" and as "less 
than one half red" the whole lot would average about one 
half red, and compare the results with the expectation as 
noted above. From grains of these two classes from 
homozygous ears both selfed and crossed by white, there 
resulted 19 red-eared and 82 variegated- eared plants, or 
a ratio of about 1:4.3 instead of 1:3. From heterozy- 
gous ears self-pollinated grains of these two classes 
yielded 54 red-eared, 85 variegated-eared, and 52 white- 
eared plants, and similar grains crossed by white yielded 
7 red-eared, 7 variegated-eared, and 20 white-eared plants, 
or ratios of 1.04:1.63:1 and 1:1:2.86 instead of 1:2:1 
and 1:1:2, respectively. The observed ratios are cer- 
tainly suggestive but must not be given undue importance, 
for there is no assurance that the seeds used really aver- 
