10 
BULLETIN" 971, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Table IV. — Comparison of the staminate and pistillate inflorescences of the 
fourth generation of the Ramosa-Gordo maize hybrid Mhl58. 
Measurements of tassel length (centimeters). 
Number of branches. 
Central 
spike 
index. 
Parental des- 
ignation. 
Entire 
Branch- 
ing 
space. 
Central 
spike. 
Upper- 
most 
branch. 
Lowest 
branch. 
Tassel. 
Ear. 
L2L1L1 
L2L1L2 
L2L1L3 
L2L1L4 
L2L1L5 
L2L1L6 
L2L1L7 
L2L1L8 
L2L1L9 
L2L1L11 
L2L1L12 
L2L2L1 
L2L2L2 
L2L2L3 
L2L2L4 
L2L2L5 
L2L2L6 
37. 6 ±0.64 
41.6±0.79 
41.1±0.80 
34. 3± 0.58 
35. 5 ±0.60 
41. 4± 0.72 
31.5±0.71 
37. 5± 0.52 
32. 5± 0.55 
35. 2± 0.62 
37. 9 ±0.69 
40. 8± 0.67 
32. 7± 1.10 
33.0 ±0.92 
31.0±0.63 
29. 4 ±0.75 
26. 7± 0.89 
20.2±0.41 
20. 7 ±0.56 
24. 7± 0.63 
15. 8± 0.58 
21.9±0.31 
17. 5± 0.66 
22. 2± 0.53 
25. 3 ±0.47 
21.5±0.45 
19. 6± 0.53 
22. 2 ±0.74 
15. 7 ±0.69 
17. 7± 0.72 
22. 4± 0.68 
17.9±0.49 
15.5±0.37 
12. 5± 1.04 
17. 4± 0.59 
20. 8± 0.87 
16.1 ±0.66 
18. 7 ±0.51 
13.5±0.53 
23. 9± 0.66 
9.2±0.41 
12. 0± 0.50 
11.0±0.42 
15.6±0.44 
15. 6 ±0.69 
25.1 ±1.13 
14. 6± 1.12 
10. 4± 0.63 
13. 0± 0.68 
13. 9± 0.53 
14. 2 ±0.80 
4.6±0.18 
6.9±0.53 
5.3±0.21 
5.1±0.28 
4.4±0.26 
8.4±0.55 
3.2±0.69 
4.1±0.20 
4.0±0.19 
5.8±0.33 
5.4±0.28 
13. 4 ±0.88 
5.2±0.37 
5.5±0.41 
4.2±0.14 
4.5±0.24 
4.5±0.29 
26. 3 ±0.60 43. 4± 1.27 
23.6±0.64 23.2±1.5 
25.8±0.63 48.4±2.1 
21.5±0.52 23. 0± 1.35 
17.3±0.58 41. 2± 1.12 
28.2±0.5S 22. 2± 1.46 
16.8±0.64 48. 3± 1.66 
21. 0± 0.61 54. 2± 1.90 
16. 0± 0.50 41. 7± 1.47 
17. 6± 1.44 39. 2± 1.32 
23.8±0.65 36. 0± 1.70 
24.2±0.93 32. 2± 1.67 
14. 4± 0.58 30. 2± 1,53 
18. 5± 0.35 52. 3± 1.93 
18.0 ±0.60 50.4±2.13 
16. 8± 0.42 25. 2± 1.06 
13. 4± 0.53 22. 3 ±2. 16 
i 
3.5±0.62 

5.5±0.65 

.3 

14.1±5.84 
9.5±1.05 
4.5±0.87 
7.9±1.19 
2.3±0.62 
" "3."9±6."89 
11.2±1.06 
— ----- 
3.6 
45. 6± 1.14 
49.6±1.9 
39. 0± 1.18 
54. 7± 1.36 
37. 6 ±0.97 
57. 8± 1.43 
29. 2± 1.37 
32. 0± 1.16 
33. 7± 1.06 
44. 4± 1.13 
41. 1± 1.68 
60.0±2.12 
43. 9± 1.48 
30. 9± 1.51 
41. 3± 1.40 
47. 0± 1.26 
53.6±2.53 
The distribution of the F 2 , F 3 , and the F 4 plants for branches on 
the ear is shown in Table V, and the distribution for the branches on 
the tassel in Table VI. The number of branches on the ear is the best 
single quantitative expression for the degree of branching, although 
subject to a certain variation due to variation in the size of the whole 
inflorescence. 
In Table VI the positions of the parent plants are shown by plus 
marks. The positions of plants which bore ramose ears are shown 
by italic figures ; where there were two such plants only one of them 
bore a ramose ear except in a single instance (marked with a star at 
line 54, column 38) wherein two plants bore ramose ears. 
In the tassels of the F 4 the difficulty of giving a single expression 
for the degree of branching is much greater. This may be due to 
the larger size of the staminate inflorescence, which tends to empha- 
size the variability by magnifying small differences. The total num- 
ber of tassel branches is, of course, reduced on plants of low vigor, 
and in a general way this may be reflected in a reduction in the size 
of the entire inflorescence, though the correlation between the size of 
the tassel and the number of branches in the ramose segregates of the 
F 2 is but 0.123 ±0.066. The best indication of the ramose character 
is the general form of the inflorescence, which is difficult to reduce 
to a single expression. Thus, in one F 4 progeny many of the plants 
developed in addition to the usual basal branches one or two branches 
midway in what otherwise was a normal central spike (PI. XII). 
In some of these plants also the pedicels of the paired spikelets grad- 
ually increased in length toward the base of the central spike, giving 
this organ a pronounced conical shape (PI. XI). Neither the num- 
