Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-11-27
LAWS OF HEREpITY.
Interestinw Experiments In Mice a.
Guinea Zig Ishe alliances.

Interestfng Experiments In Mice and
Guinea Pis Isheritances.
In the basement OF one Of the Hnr-
ward university laboratories lives
happy, well fed and self satisfied set
pigs, whose respective family histories,
from the oldest patriarch to the young
est Srcat-great-grandch are matters
OF scientific record, these records in
turn furnishing data for long and pa
tient study OF their inherited charac-
teristics- Every creature has an estab-
lished pedigree. and the record In which
the scientist who is studying them has
noted the birth and life history OF each
little animal numbers something over
1.5O0 entries. This record includes
rough outline drawing OF the animal
something like the typical human figure
on which a recruiting sergeant marks
down physical characteristics of a new
recruit I'm the United States army or
navy-on which are noted its individual
markings and distribution OF color.
To say that science thus watches the
development of hereditary peculiarities
diately suggestsa Question-how can one
detect the inherited characteristics of
these little animals? One guinea pig, one
might say. is very like another guinea
pig, and one rabbit very like another
rabbit. Buta visit to the nenagerie at the
Harvard geological laboratory shows
immediately that there are differences
in guinea pigs. Some are albinos, for
example-snow white. with pink eyes
others are only partly aibino-"mosa-
les" the zoologist calls tbem-and yet
others are angoras, with long hair like
an angora kitten, or "yosetted." word
that describes guinea pig whose hair
grows in such fashion that the timid
little animal appears to be chemically
exposed to blowy weather. There are
more differences among the guinea
pigs than among either the mice or
rabbits. but In all classes there are diff
ferences enough to establish questions
Of inheritance and show how this, that
or other characteristic has or has not
been transmitted. One of the NEST
curious results OF these Investigations,
for example. has been the evolution OF
race Of guinea pigs with four toes.
where ordinarily a guinea pig has but
three, curious peculiarly whose ap-
pearance in Father Pig and subse-
Quent transmission through q series
OF generations is as yet only partly ex-
plainable.
One Of the most interesting crea-
lures in the collection is the waitzing
mouse from Japan. whose great recrea-
ton Is to spin round and round and
round In one direction until he gets
tired and then round and round and
round in the other. The Waiting
mouse. moreover. appears intoxicated
when he walks, and the idea that III
straight line is the shortest distance
between two points has evidently never
occurred to his philosophy. In mating.
the waltzing mouse proves for animals
exactly what series of experiments
conducted years ago by an Austrian
monk proved for the flowers In his
garden-his descendants, provided he
is mated with normal mouse, are all
normal. and so also are their descend
ants so long as there Is no mating with
another mouse who has the latent in
herited taste for the waltz; but when
both parents have such an inheritance
one out or every four Of their descend
ants VIII take its recreation by spin
ming round and round and round in
the ancestral fashion.
The practical utility OF such lines Of
experiment lies. obviously, In imprev-
ing the breed OF various domestic AMI
mails. but the little Harvard menagerie
is also working out problems OF great
consequence in heredity in generai-a
question OF the greatest Importance
when one realizes how vital in our
modern civilization are our individual
inheritances either OF disease or char
actcr