INHERITANCE OF WAXY ENDOSPERM IN MAIZE. 53 
but as no significant differences were found the endosperm textures 
may be disregarded. Five all-colored ears were obtained that are 
not tabulated. The 25 ears tabulated were borne on 28 plants. 
The expected proportions for these 28 individual plants is 15.75 
plants all colored, 10.5 plants with a monohybrid ratio, and 1.75 
plants with a dihybrid ratio. The observed plants fell into two 
groups only, 5 ears all colored and 23 with a monohybrid ratio. The 
deviation, though too large to be ascribed to chance, may, neverthe- 
less, be the result of accident. 
The observed deviation would be expected to occur as the result of 
chance but once in 500 times. Although this deviation would seem 
significant, it is, in fact, merely accidental. Self-pollinating these 
plants proved that they were in the expected proportion of 1 homo- 
zygous for both color factors, 2 heterozygous for one and homozygous 
for the other, and 1 heterozygous for both factors. The deviations 
noted from this grouping would be expected to occur as the result of 
chance eight times in a hundred. 
The large deviation from the expected grouping for the crosses 
between sister plants was probably the result of an unconscious 
selection of the male parents, since we have seen that the plants were 
present in the expected proportions. Seven of these 23 ears were 
borne on plants that were shown by means of self-pollinated ears to 
be heterozygous for two color factors. But since these seven ears were 
all the result of pollen from plants that were homozygous for one 
color factor and heterozygous for the other, they had approximately 
25 per cent of the seeds white. 
One of the four groups that comprise the total deviated in excess 
of the expected percentage by 3.7 times the probable error. The 
deviation in this group is due to an excess of white seeds on ear 
No. 1876. This ear had 32.4 per cent of the seeds white. The devia- 
tion of 7.4 per cent above the expected 25 per cent is 4.9 times the 
probable error. The plant that produced the ear in question bore 
two other ears, Nos. 1874 and 1875. No. 1874, like 1876, -was the 
result of pollen secured from a plant grown from the colored waxy 
seeds of ear No. 1110. The third ear, No. 1875, was the result of 
self-pollinating the female parent of ears Nos. 1874 and 1876. The 
self-pollinated ear No. 1875 had 41.6 per cent white, demonstrating 
the female parent of these three ears to be heterozygous for the two 
factors for color. Unfortunately, an ear was not secured from the 
male parent of No. 1876, so the gametic constitution of this plant can 
not be definitely determined. Ear No. 1876, however, with 32.4 per 
cent white, is closer to a monohybrid ratio than a dihybrid ratio, but 
it stands almost midway between the two ratios and can scarcely be 
referred to either. The relations of these ears are shown in figure 6. 
