RAMOSE INFLORESCENCE IN MAIZE. 19 
departing from the common form in the opposite direction from that 
of the ramose variation. 
Although in a general way the Gordo type of staminate in- 
florescence is dominant to the ramose form in the first generation 
of the hybrid, the influence of the Ramosa parent can be detected 
easily when the various parts of the inflorescences are measured. 
The ears of the F x were normal and without branches. 
In the second generation of these hybrids the plants segregated 
into normal and ramose plants. Classified from the general appear- 
ance of the tassel, approximately one-fourth of the plants were 
ramose, supporting the results of previous investigations. Measure- 
ments of the various parts of the tassel showed, however, that the 
ramose segregates had undergone alterations, having retained par- 
tially the characteristics of the Gordo parent, while conversely the 
normal plants showed the effect of their Ramosa ancestry. 
In the ramose group the general appearance of the tassels showed 
great variability. When the ears were harvested a similar range was 
observed. Plants classed as ramose from the characteristics of the 
tassel had ears without branches, although the converse of this was 
not observed. Ears were obtained which ranged in an unbroken 
series from typical ramose to those without branches. In a general 
way these intermediate forms of ears were associated with a similar 
intermediate condition of the tassel. An F 3 was grown from two 
open-pollinated ears, one without branches and the other with but 
four branches, both having tassels which betrayed their Ramosa 
parentage. The progeny of these plants ranged from typical ramose 
to normal in respect to the ears, although most of the tassels were 
intermediate between ramose and normal. 
Eighteen F 4 progenies were grown from self-pollinated F 3 plants 
and showed that the diversity observed in the second and third gen- 
erations was inherited. Two of the progenies produced o'nly ears 
without branches, but the Ramosa ancestry was apparent in the tas- 
sels. These two progenies were both from unbranched ears. On the 
other hand, the progeny of a self-pollinated ramose ear produced 1 
typically ramose, 11 intermediate, and 4 unbranched ears. It remains 
to be determined whether the modification of the ramose variation is 
the result of introducing numerous modifying factors through the 
Gordo parent, or whether the ramose character depends upon the 
combination of multiple factors for intense expression, or whether the 
true-breeding intermediate forms represent a series of multiple alle- 
lomorphs. 
During the course of these experiments another ramose variation 
has been found which is genetically identical with Gernert's varia- 
tion, but 'this appeared three years earlier in the gardens of Mr. 
J. M. Mack, at Fall Brook, Calif. In this strain an intermediate 
