404 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [MAY

The colonyis comparedwiththeblastulastageof animalembryology, and has

a pore like the blastopore. The antheridiumdevelopsin the blastulafashion
witha "phialopore,"as does also the newcolony,whetherformedasexuallyor
fromthe egg. The figuresare verydiagrammatic, but interestingand prob-
ably accurate. No nuclear detail is attempted. The most strikingfeature
of the paper is the terminology.Every structurehas a technicalname,even
whenordinaryliteraryFrenchwouldserveas well.-CHARLES J. CHAMBERLAIN.

NOTES FOR STUDENTS

Inheritance in maize.-COLLINS7 has made someinteresting observations
on the progenyof an all-whiteear of maize that appearedsuddenlyin a field
planted with a varietyknownas Gorhamyellowdent. Since the character
with which he was dealing develops in the endospermand usually shows
completedominancein crosses,this variationis out of the ordinary. The
authorclassesit as a case ofmutativereversalofdominance. To thereviewer
such a view respectingthe phenomenonseemsunwise. In the descendantsof
theseedsofthisear,yellowwas dominantto lack of yellowin varyingdegrees;
it only remainsthento explain the non-development ofyellowin the original
aberrantear. It has been generallyaccepted that dominanceor lack of
dominanceis only anotherway of describingthe somatic appearance of a
heterozygote.It has nothingto do withsegregation and is valuablesimplyas an
indicationofzygoticcomposition. The trueclassification ofanyindividualcan
be determinedonly by breedingfromit, forthereare charactersso variable
in theirdominancethat the appearance of the heterozygote may be similar
to either homozygote(AA or aa). In spite of its variability,however,
dominancedoes not just happen. It has its causes. An individualAA may
be crossedwithvariouskindsof aa individualsand thedegreeofdominancebe
different in each cross,but these various manifestations are due to internal
differences betweenthe aa organisms. On the otherhand,externalconditions
may affectthe manifestation of a charactereitherwhenin a heterozygous or
whenin a homozygouscondition. One mayassume,therefore, thatdominance
is not a phenomenonof great variabilitywhen both externaland internal
conditionsof developmentare identical. For thesereasons,the reviewerhas
a suspicionthat COLLINS' mutativereversalof dominancewas nothingbut
suppresseddevelopmentdue to some abnormal environmentalcondition,
possiblythe accidentalpresenceof some particularmetallicsalt in the spot
of soil in whichthe plant grew. The reviewerhas observedsomewhatsimilar
phenomena,but has neverthoughthis own ignoranceof theirexact cause a
sufficient excuseforan attackon well establishedtheories.
Seeds fromCOLLINS' "albinistic" ear wereplantedand theprogenyinvesti-
gated. His resultsshowclearlythat he was dealingwiththe behaviorof two

7 COLLINS, G. N., Heredity of a maize variation. Bur. PI. Ind. Bull. 272. pp.
23. PI. I. fig. I. 1913.
19I3] CURRENT LITERATURE 405

factorsforyellowendosperm,Y, and Y2, of whichone is muchmoreeffective

in producingthe yellow pigmentthan the other. Such an assumptionhe
regardsas "violent," it beingjust as violentas have been the assumptionsof
all Mendelianexperimentalists who have made mathematicalinterpretations
of breedingfacts. The authoris also greatlydisturbedover the questionof
whetheror not the segregationratiosthat he obtainedfitthe theoryof error.
It seems to the reviewer,however,that consideringthe possibilityof experi-
mentalerrorin workwith maize, he is to be congratulatedon having done
someverycarefulworkto have themfit"theory" as well as theydo.
Notwithstanding the fact that the resultsobtained agree well with the
assumptionof two yellowfactorsthat are givenabove, withonlya fewminor
variationsof classification of distinguishing
due to the difficulty lightyellows
fromwhite,theauthorconcludes"that whilethesegregation is usuallynumeri-
callyexact,it is by no meanscomplete; that is, the dominantcharacteris not
completelyabsent fromindividualsof the recessiveclass." "This," he says,
"is shownnot onlyby thepresenceofa faintyellowcolorin mostof the seeds,
but also by the factthatapparentlypurewhiteseeds froman ear in whichthe
classes were well markedmay produce seed with a fullydeveloped yellow
color when self-pollinated." Consequentlyhe favors the idea of gametic
impurityin the sense that extracteddominantsand recessivesmay transmit
tracesof the alternativecharacter.
Again thisconclusionseemsopposed to the factssubmitted. If one has a
set of lightyellowand whiteseeds in an apparentratio of 3: i, he makeshis
classificationas besthe mayby somaticappearance. He thengrowsthewhole
seriesand findsout whatthetrueclassification of theparentswas. This the
reviewerhas done on similarmaterial,with the resultthat the ratio of the
motherseeds provedto be 3: I; thisthe authoreitherhas not done or has not
reported. If thenthe whiteears obtaineddo not again breedtrue,one might
have therightto assumegameticcontamination;but theauthorreportsno such
evidence. As a matterof fact,extractedrecessivesand extracteddominants
do appear to throwthe alternativecharacteron rareoccasions,but the phe-
nomenonis so rarethatone maybetterassumethat a germinalrearrangement
(mutation)has occurred. Of coursein any species some variationsare more
likely to occur than others,which may be taken as evidence of a kind of
latency. But thisis onlythekindoflatencythatis analogousto thetendency
of a chlorineatom to splitofffroma complexbenzenederivative,ratherthan
one of the more conservativeradicals such as methyl. It is evidencethat
certainrearrangements in a particulargermplasm are morelikelyto occur
thanothers.-E. M. EAST.
Studies of Nicotiana hybrids.-In two papers, appearingalmost simul-
taneously,GOODSPEED8has reported the results of his investigationson
8 GOODSPEED,T. H., Quantitative studies of inheritancein Nicotiancahybrids.

Univ. Calif. Publ. 5: no. 2. pp. 87-068. pIs. 29-34. I9I2; ibid. no. 3. pp. i69-i88.
I913.