9

XV.-The Correlation between Relatives on the Supposition of Mendelian Inherit-

ance.· By R. A. Fisher, B.A. Communicated by Professor J. ARTHUR
THOMSON. (With Four Figures in Text.)
(MS. received June 15, 1918. Read July 8, 1918. Issued 'eparately October 1, 1918.)

CONTENTS.
PAGE PA.OE
I. The superposition of factors distributed inde- 15. Homogamy and multiple allelo.aorphism 416
pendently . 402 16. Coupling. 418
2. Phase frequency in each array 402 17. Theories of marital correlation; ;rnce>tral
3. Parental regression . 403 correlations . -119
4. Dominance deviations 403 18. Ancestral correlations (second and third
5. Correlation for parent; genetic correlations 404 theories) 421
6. Fraternal correlation 405 19. Numerical values of association 421
7. Correlations for other relatives 406 20. Fraternal correlation 422
8. Epistacy . 408 21. Numerical values for environment and doini-
9. Assortative mating . 410 nancc ratios ; analysis of variance 423
10. Frequency of phases 410 , 22. Other relatives 424
11. Association of factors 411 23. Numerical values (third theory) 425
12. Conditions of equilibrium 412 ' 24. Comparison of results 427
13. Nature of association 413 · 25. Interpretation of dominance ratio (diagrams) . 428
14. Multiple allelomorphism. 415 26. Summary 4:l2

Several attempts have alrearly been made to interpret the well-established

results of biometry in accordance with the :\[endelian scheme of inheritance. ft
is here attempted to ascertain the biometrical properties of a population of a more
general type than has hitherto been examined, inheritance in which follows this
scheme. It is hopetl that in this way it will be possible to make a more exact
analysis of the causes of human variability. The great body of available statistics
show us that the deviations of a human measurement from its mean follow very
closely the Normal Law of Errors, and, therefore, that the variability may be
uniformly measured by the standard 1leviation corresponding to the square root
of the mean square error. \Yhen there are t\vo independent causes of rnriability
capable of producing in an otherwise uniform population distributions with standard
rleviations o- 1 all<l o- 2 , it is found that tl1e distribution, when both causes act together,
has a stanrlar<l deviation ,./o- 12 +o- 2 2• It is therefore desirable in analysi11g the
causes of n1riability to deal "·ith the s11uare of the ~tmulard deviatio11 as the
measure of rnriability. We shall term this quantity the Yariance of the normal
population to which it refers, and we may now ascribe to the constituent causes
fractions or percentag~s of the total rnriance which th.ey together produce. It
is llesirable on the one hand that the elementary ideas at the basis of the calculus
of correlations should be clearly understood, and easily expressed in ordinary
language, and on the other that loose phrases about the "percentage of causation,"

134 Transactions of the RoyaZ Society of Edinburgh, 52: 399-433, (1918).

 400 R. A. FISHER ON THE CORHELATION BETWEEN

which obscure the essential distinction between the indi-:idual and the population,
should be carefully avoided.
Speaking always of normal populations, when the coefficient of coHelation
between father and son, in stature let us say, is r, it follows that for the group of
sons of fathers of any given height the variance is a fraction, 1- r 2 , of the variance
of sons in general. Thus if the correlation is ·5, we have accounted by reference
to the height of the father for one quarter of the variance of the sons. For the
remaining three quarters we must account by some other cause. If the two parents
are independent, a second quarter may be ascribed to the mother. If father and
mother, as usually happens, are positively correlated, a less amount must be added
to obtain the joint contribution of the two parents, since some of the mother's
contribution will in this case have been already included with the father's. In a ·
similar way each of the ancestors makes an independent contribution, but the total
amount of variance to be ascribed to the measurements of ancestors, including
parents, cannot greatly exceed one half of the total. We may know this by
considering the difference between brothers of the same fraternity: of these the
whole ancestry is identical, so that we may expect them to resemble one another
rather more than persons whose ancestry, identical in respect of height, consists
of different persons. For stature the coefficient of correlation between brothers is
about '54, which we may interpret* by saying that ·54 per cent. of their variance
is accounted for by ancestry alone, and that 46 per cent. must have some other
explanation.
It is not sufficient to ascribe this last residue to the effects of environment.
Numerous investigations by GALTON and PEARSON have shown that all measurable
environment has much less effect on such measurements as stature. Further, the
facts collected by CALTON respecting identical twins show that in this case, where
the essential nature is the same, the variance is far less. The simplest hypothesis,
and the one which we shnll examine, is that such features as stature are determined
by a large number of Mendelian factors, ;ind that the large variance among children
of the same parentK is due to the segregation of those factors in respect to which
the parents are heterozygous. Upon this hypothesis we will attempt to determine
how much more of the variance, in different measurable features, beyond that which
is indicated by the fraternal correlation, is due to innate an<l heritable factors.
In 1903 KARL PEARSON devoted to a first examination of this hypothesis the
* The correlation is determined from the measurementa: of n individuah:, Xu x!;!, . . . Xin and of their brothers,
y 11 y2, Yr; let us suppoi':e that each pail' of brotliers i~ a random Rlllnplc of t\vo from an infinite fraternity, that
• . .,
is to say from all the so11.., which a pair of parents IJlight conceh·ably have produced, and that the vari1tnce of each
such fraternity is V, while that of the •ons in general i> rr. Then the mean value of (x-y)' will be 2V, oince e&ch
brother contributes the variance V. But expanding the expres:-iun, we fiud the rueau value of both ..c.2 and y'l is q2,

while that of xy i> ""'', where r is the fraternal correlaLion. Itetiee 2V =2<1'2(1-r), or~= 1-1»
(T
Taking the values
'5066 and ·2804 for the parental and 1w1rital correlation.\ we find that the heights of the l'arenls alone account for
40·10 per cent. of tlte rnriance of the children, whereas ,he total e[Ject of ancestry, deduced from the fraternal
correlation, j, 54·33 per cent,

135
 RELATIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OF MENDELIAN INHERITANCE. 401

twelfth of his Mathematical Contributions to the Theory of Evolution ("On a

Generalised Theory of Alternative Inheritance, with special reference to Mendel's
Laws,'' Phil. Trans., vol. cciii, A, pp. 53-87. The subject had been
opened by UDNY YULE, New Phytologist, vol. i). For a population
important Mendelian pairs, the dominant and recessive phases being
numbers, and the different factors combining their effects by simple
found that the correlation coefficients worked out uniformly too low. The parental
correlations were §-and the fraternal f:z-.*
These low values, as was pointed out by YULE at the Conference on Genetics in
1906 (Horticultural Society's Report), could be satisfactorily explained as due to the
assumption of complete dominance. It is true that dominance is a very general
Mendelian phenomenon, but it is purely somatic, and if better agreements can be
obtained without assuming it in an extreme and rigorous sense, we are justified in
testing a wider hypothesis. YULE, although dealing with by no means the most
general case, obtained results which are formally almost general. He Rhows the
similarity of the effects of dominance and of environment in reducing the correlations
between relatives, but states that they are identical, an assertion to which, as I shall
show, there is a remarkable exception, which enables us, as far as existing statistics
allow, to separate them and to estimate how much of the total variance is due to
dominance and how much to arbitrary outside causes.
In the following investigation we find it unnecessary to assume that the different
Mendelian factors are of equal importance, and we allow the different phases of each
to occur in any proportions consistent with the conditions of mating. The hetero-
zygote is from the first assumed to have any value between those of the dominant and
the recessive, or even outside this range, which terms therefore lose their polarity,
and become merely the means of distinguishing one pure phase from the other. In
order to proceed from the simple to the complex we assume at first random mating,
the independence of the different factors, and that the factors are sufficiently numerous
to allow us to neglect certain small quantities.

* The case of the fraternal correlations has been unfortunately complicated by the belief that the correlation on a
Mendelian hypothesis would depend on the number of the fraternity. In a family, for instance, in which fom
Mendelian types are liable to occur in e<1nal ntunbers, it was as.sumed that of a family of four, one would be of each
type; in a family of eight, two of each type; and so 011. If this were the case, then in such families, one being of the
type A would make it less likely, in small families impossible, for a second to Le of this type. If, as was ~lendel's
hypothesis, the different •1ualities were carried Ly different ga1netes, each brother would have an iwlependent and
c•1ual chance of each of the four po$;ibilities. Thus the furm11hu giving the fraternal correlations in terms of the
number of the fratemity give values too small. The right value on Mendel's theory is that for an intinite fraternity.
As Pt:Ansox suggested in the same paper, "probably the n10st correct way of looking at auy frat<>rnal correlation
table would be to suppose it a random sample of all pairs of brothers which would be obtained Ly giving a large, or
even indefinitely large, fertility to each pair, for what we actually Joi' tu take families of varying •ize anJ ta.ke as
many pairs of brothers as they provide." In spite of this, the same coufuHiug supposition appears in a paper by
SNow "Ou the Determination of the Chief Correlations between Collaterals in the Case of a Simple ~lendclian
Population llating at Random" (E. C. S:sow, B.A., Proc. Roy. Soc., June 1910); and in one by JoHN llROWNl,&&,
"'l'he Significance of the Correlation Coefficient when applie<l tu lieudelian l>i4ribuliuns" (!'roe, Roy. Soc. Edin.,
Jan. 1910).

136
 402 R. A. FISHER ON THE CORRELATION BETWEEN

1. Let us suppose that the difference caused by a 13ingle Mendelian factor is

represented in its three phases by the difference of the quantities a, d, - a, and
that these phases exist in any population with relative frequency P, 2Q, where
P+ 2Q+R= 1.
Then a population in which this factor is the only cause of variability has its
mean at
m= Pa+ 2Qd - Ha,
so that
P(a -m) + 2Q(d- m)- R(a+m)=O.
Let now
P(a- m) 2 + 2Q(d- m) 2 + R(a + m)2 = a2 (!)

a 2 then is the varrnnce due to this factor, for it is en,sily seem that when two such
factors are combined at random, the mean square deviation from the new mean is
equal to the sum of the values of a 2 for the two factors separately. In general the
mean square deviation due to a number of such factors associated at random will be
written

To justify our statement that a 2 is the contribution which a single factor makes
to the total variance, it is only necessary to show that when the number of such
factors is large the distributions will take the normal form.
lf now we write
µ 3 = P(a- m) 3+ 2Q(d -m)3- R(a + m) 3
µ4= P(a- m) 4 + 2Q(d-m) 4 + R(a+ m)',

and if M 3 and M 4 are the third and fourth moments of the populatiou, the variance
of which is due solely to the random combination of such factors, it is ea,sy
to see that
~13= ":i.µ3
M4 - 3cr 4 = ::Z(0.1 - 3a 4).

Now the departurP from normality of the populatio11 may be measuTed by means of
the two ratios

The first of these is

( lp.3)2/('~a2 )3,

and is of the onler l., where i1. is the number of favtors concerued, wltilc the second
n
differs from its Gaussian value 3 also by a quantity of the order l.
n
2. If there are a great number of different factors, so that (I" is large compared to
every separate a, we may investigate the proportions in which the 1lifferent phases
occur in a selected array of in<lividuals. Since the deviation of an indivi<lual is
simply due to a random combination of the deviations of separate factors, we must
expect a given array of deviation, let us say :r, to contain the phases of each factor

137
 RELATIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OF MENDELIAN INHERITANCE. 403

in rather different proportions to those in which they exist in the whole population.
The latter will be represented now by P, 2Q, Il, while P, 2Q, R stand for the pro-
portions in some particular array under consideration.
Consider a population which is the same in every respect as the one we a.re
dealing with· save that all its members have one particular factor in the heterozygous
phase, and let us modify it by choosing of each array a proportion P which are to
become dominants and to increase by a - d, and a proportion R which become recessive
and diminish by a+ d: the mean is thereby moved to the extent m- d.
Of those which after this modification find themselves in the array with
deviation x, the dominants formerly had a deviation x- a+ m, the heterozygotes
x- d + m, and the recessives x +a+ m, and since the variance of the original popula-
tion was cr 2 - a2 , the frequencies of these three types are in the ratio
_(z-a+m)' _(o:-d+mf _(>:+a+m)'
Pe 2(.,.•-.,•) : z<;je 2('12-a') : Re 2(u'-a')'

2
or, when er is great compared to a, so that a2 may be neglected,

I
IT

P=P[1+~(a -m)J
Q=Q[l+~(d-m)J . . (III)

R=ll[I-~(a-j-m)J J
giving the proportions in which the phases occur in the array of deviation x.
3. Hence the members of this array mating at random will have offspring
distributed in the three phases in the proportion

~2[ 1+ ~(a-m)J + PQ[ 2+ .;2(a-m+d-m)J +Q 2 [ I +;

2
(d.-rn) j.
J
N;'i [2 +;ia-m+d-m)] +2Q 2[ 1 +;id- in) + fl8{2-;2(2111)-, + Qi1[ 2 +~/d - 111- a- 111) J.
q2[ I+;/d -m)J+QR[2+ ~(d- m-a- m)J +R2[1-;?/a+111)}
and therefore the deviation of the mean of the offspring is
* 2J(!'lf!-Q2)+~[P~(a-d)2+2:P1l(a2- 1l2J+QR(a+d12+(PR -~2Jd(d -m) J.
Omitting the terms in (PR- Q2), which for random mating is zero, the regression
due to a single factor is
. (IV)

4. To interpret this expression, consider what is involved in taking a, d, -a as

representing the three phases of a factor. Genetically the heterozygote is inter-
mediate between the dominant and the recessive, somatically it differs from their

* The last term within the square brackets should be multiplied by 2.

138
 404 R. A. FISHER ON THE CORRELATTON BETWEEN

mean by d. The steps from recessive to heterozygote. and from heterozygote to

dominant are genetically identical, and may change from one to the other in passing
from father to son. Somatically the steps are of different importance, and the
soma to some extent disguises the true genetic nature. There is in dominance a
certain latency. We may say that the somatic effects of identical genetic changes
are not additive, and for this reason the genetic similarity of relations is partly
obscured in the statistical aggregate. A similar deviation from the addition of
superimposed effects may occur between different Mendelian factors. We may use
the term Epistacy to describe such deviation, which although potentially more
complicated, has similar statistical effects to dominance. If the two sexes are
considered as Mendelian alternatives, the fact that other Mendelian factors affect
them to rlifferent extentH may be regarded as an example of epistacy.
The contributions of imperfectly additive genetic factors divide themselves for
statistical purposes into two parts: an additive part which reflects the genetic nature
without distortion, and gives rise to the correlations which one obtains; and a residue
which acts in much the same way as an arbitrary error introduced into the measure-
ments. Thus, if for a, d, - a we substitute the linear serie8
c+h, l', c-b,

and choose b and c in such a way that

P(o + b- a)2+ 2(~(i: -c!,,jt + R(c- b+ a)2

is a minimum, we find for this minimum value &2 ,

02 = 4l'<i)Rd"
PQ+:lPR+QR'

which is the contribution to the variance of the irregular behaviour of the soma; and
for the contribution of the additive part, (3 2 , where
f32= P(c + b-m)2 +2Q(c- m) 2 + R(c-h- m)2,
we obtain
{32 = 2b2 (PQ + 2PR + (iR ),
and since
Ii- Q(P-R)d
* - a+ PQ + 2l'R +QR'
we have
,8 2 =2a2(P(/+2l'R+(JR)-4Q(P-lt)ad+ 2Q"(P-R)•d• .
l'Q+2PR+QR

5. These expressions may be much simplified by using the equation

<-J• = l'R,
for then
o•=4Q•d• (V)
t f32 ~ 2a2 Q• - 4Q( P - R)ad + 2Q(P - R) 2d' (VI)

which appears in the regression in Article 3 (IV),

and
112 = 2a2Q - 4~(P - R)ad + 2Q(P + Rjd• . (VII)

• For b =a+ ••• , read b =a - ••••

2
t For 13 2 = 2a 2 Q2 - ... , read 13 "" 2a 2 Q -
139
 RELATIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OF MENDELIAN INHERITANCE. 405

[n general
a2= /3'+02,
and if
u2 =Sa2 . (VIII)
T'2 ='1./3' (IX)
and
,z =-:i.8' (X)
then

The regression due to a single factor of the mean of the offspring of parents of a
given array is

and adding up the effects of all factors we find

so that the parental correlation for a static population mating at random is simply

(XI)

We may regard this formula otherwise. The correlation Letween the actual
somatic measurements such as a, d, - a, and the representative linear quantities
c + b, c, c - b is ~. Thus the correlation of parent and child is made up of three
factors, two of
"
them
representing the relations between the real and the repre-
sentative measurements, and thr third the correlation hetween the representative
measurements of the two relativt•s. Thus the effect of dominance is simply to reduce
, T2
certain relatiom1hip correlations in the ratio 2 .
"
The values of the correlations between the representati\•e me1umrements for
rn.mlom mating, which may be (·allecl the genetic correlationfl, are given in the
accompanying table : -
Half 2nd Half 1st Half Ancestral Brother. 1st Cousin. 2nd Cousin.
Generations.

Own.
Father's
'/ ..
Cousin.

I /1 ~
Cousin.
1
/1 6
Brother.
,I•
'/s
Line.

1
1
I"
1
'I•
I,.
I I3 2

.1.1 I/:: 2
I" 'I' 'I"
Grandfather's 1
I 2"" 'J.'
1
I I. '/, ,I• I I. 2 1/,,.

I I. 2 I11;
1
Great-grandfather's 'I." 1
J1 2" 'I. '!" '/2"
1 1
I1 ~
1
Great-great-grandfather's '/102• /250 'J.' '/10 /o 2 2 'J ...

6. The above reasoning as to the effects of dominance applies without modification

to the ancestral line, but in a special class of collaterals requires reconsideration.
The reason is that the deviations from linearity are now themselves correlated. In
other words, a father who is heterozygote instead of recessive may have offspring

140
 406 FISHER ON THE COll:lR:ELAT!ON l!ETWEEN

who show a sin1iiar variation; but they may also be chaµged from to
dotninant, the case of however, whichever

i, , k for the deviations

a- m, d-m., -(a+m),
so that
2'P+?jQ+kR=O . (XH)
R, we can draw up association tables for different of
obtain the correlations between them by substituting the
fractions in the nine sections of the table as coefficients of a quadratic function
in i, y', k.
Thus the association table between parent and child is

pq(p+q)
pq'

from which we obtain the quadratic

p3i2 + 2p 2qij + pq(p + q)12 + 2pq 2jk t q3k',
which is equal to
_!_(p'i - q'k)S = kf3',
4pq
while for brother and brother we have the table
p'(p + ~q)'
F'q(p+M pq(p'+3pq+q') pq'(kp+q)
----·-~--·-·

~J''IJ' 1''l'(~p+q) q'(kp+q)'

which gives us a <1uaclratic CX[Jression exceeding that for the parental correlation by
the terms
P2q2
--(P- 'J(j + 4j2+ 2ik- 2jk + k2),
4
which are equal to , and therefore give for the fraternal correlation
_L (T2 + 4,2).
2cr 2

The effect of dominance is to reduce the fraternal correlation to only half the
extent to which the parental correlation is reduced. This allows us to distinguish, as
far as the accuracy of the existing figures allows, between the random external effects
of environment and those of dominance. This halving of the effect of dominance, it
is important to notice, is independent of the relative importance of different factors,
of their different degrees of dominance, and of the different proportions in which
their phases occur. The correlation between the dominance deviations of siblings is,
in all cases, !.
7, To investigate the cases of uncles and cousins we must deal with all the possible

't For -2ij and -2jk, read -4ij and -4jk, respectively. 141
 RELATIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OF MENDELIAN INHERITANCE. 407

types of mating down to the second generation. The three Mendelian phases will
yield six types of mating, and ordinary cousinships are therefore connected by one of
six types of sibship. The especially interesting case of double cousins, in which two
members of one sibship mate with two members of another, can occur in twenty-one
distinct ways, since any pair of the six types of sibship may be taken. The pro-
portionate numbers of the three Mendelian phases in the children produced by the
random matings of such pairs of sibships is given in the accompanying table:-
Type of sibship. 1.0. 0 1. l .0 0. 1.0 l .2. l 0. l .1 0.0. l
Frequency p• 4p3q 2p2q2 4p'y' 4pq" 114
p• 1. 0. 0 3. 1.0 I. l. 0 l. 1. 0 l. 3.0 0. 1. 0
4p8q 3. 1. 0 9. 6. l 3. 4. 1 3 .... l :l. 10. 3 0. 3. l
2p2q2 1. 1. 0 3. 4. 1 1. 2. 1 1. '.L 1 1. 4. :l 0. 1. 1
4p2q2 1. l. 0 3. -!. I l .2.1 l . 2.1 1. -L 3 0. 1. l
4pq3 I. 3. 0 3. 10. l I .-1. 3 1. -!. 3 l. 6.9 0. 1.3
* 0. 0. 1
q' 0. l. 0 0. 3. I 0. 1 . 1 0. 1. I 0. I. 3

3p 11+3q q p q p If p 3p+11 31j

p.q.O 4·-4- ·4 2·2 ·2 2 ·2· 2 -.1- O.p.q
4· 'T
The lowest line gives the proportions of the phases in the whole cousirrnhip whose
connecting sibship is of each of the six typeK.
If we pick out all possible pairs of uncle (or aunt) and nephew (or niece) we obtain
the table
p"(p+ ht)
!pq(p' + 6pq +</)
!pq2(p + 3q)

the 11uallratic from which reduces exactly to :J;,82 , showing that when mating 1;; at
random the avuncular correlation is exactly one half of the paternal.
From the twenty-one types of double cousinship pairs may be piekcrl, the pro-
portions of which are shown in the table :-
p'(p + ;}q )' -f-p'q(p + lq) \:)
nP'f
:l 2

which agrees with the table ginn hy SNOW for ordinary first cousins. I cannot
explain this divergc11ce, unle::;s it be that SNOW is in error, my rnlues for ordinary
first cousins leading to less than half this value for the correlation. Simplifying the
quadratic in i,j, k, whieh is most easily <lone in this ease by comparison with the
avuncular table, we find for the correlation of double cousins
2-(r'
4u2
+ 41•2) '

showing that 1louble cousins, like brothers, show some similarity in the <listribution

* For J, 10, 1 in third column, read 3, 10, 3.

142
 408 k. A. FISHER ON THE CORRELATION llETWEEN

of deviations due to dominance, and that with these cousins the correlation will in
general be rather higher than it is for uncle and nephew.
For ordinary first cousins I find the following table of the distribution of random
pairs drawn from the six types of ordinary cousinship :-

*
ip'q(7zi+q) {-pq2(p+7q)

l -r2
which yields the correlation B ;ii.
[u a similar way the more distant kin may be investigated, but since for them
reliable data have not yet been publislie<l, the table already given of genetic correla-
tions will be a sufficient guide.
8. Before extending the above results to the more difficult conditions of
assortative mating, it is desirable to show how our methods may be developed so as
to include the statistical feature to which we have applied the term Epistacy. The
combination of two .\fowlelian factors giveR rise to nine distinct phases, and there is
no biological reason for supposing that nine such distinct measurements should be
exactly represented by the nine deviations formed by adding i,J, or k to i',j', or k'.
If we suppose that i,j, k, i',J', /.;'have been RO chosen as to represent the nine actual
types with the least square error, we have now to deal with additional quantities,
which we may term

connectPd by tlic Ri~ <'•1uations, five of which are independent.

p2eu + "21u1rz1+(12e:H=0 1>' 2e11 +2p'q'e 12 +q' 2e13 = 0
;> 2e12 + 21;11e:!:!. + 1/·p'S?. =. O z12e21 + 2p'</e22 +q'2e23 = 0
,,2eJa + 2;)f1e2:1 + r/"eaa = 0 1/ 2e"' + 2p'r/e32 + q' 2e31 = 0.
This is a com pie Le repre;;eutation of a11y sucli deviations from linearity as may
exist between two factors. 8uch dual epistacy, as we may term it, is the only kind
of which we shall treat. More complex connectio11s rould doubtless exist, but the
number of unk11ow11s introduced hy <lual epistacy alone, four, is more than can be
determi11ed by existing data. In ad<lition it is very improbable that any statistical
effect, of a nature other than that which we are considering, is actually produced by
more complex somatic connections.
The full association table between two relative.s, when we are considering two
distinct Mendelian factors, consists of eight,y-one cells, and the l[Ultdratic expr_ession to
which it leads now involves the nine epistatic deviations. A remarkable simplification
is, however, possible, since each l[Uautity, such as e2 b which refers to a partially or

* For tp 2 q 2 (7p + q) in second column, read f;p 2q(7p + q).

143
 RELATIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OF MENDELIAN INHERITANCE. 409

wholly heterozygous individual, is related to two other quantities, such as e11 and e31 ,
by just the same equation as that by which .i is related to i and k, am1 occurs in the
9 x 9 table with corresponding coefficients. The elimination of the five 1leviations
e:n, e12 , ea2, e2a, e22 is therefore effected by rewriting the 9 x 9 table as a 4 x 4 tn,ble,
derived from the quadratic in i and k corresponding to the relationship considered.
Thus the variance, found by squaring the individual variations, ifl derived from
the 3 x 3 table
p'
2pq

which yields the 2 x 2 table

~(p+2q) ~pq

1-(2p+q)
'.lp

and the quadratic in eu, e13 , ea1, eaa

_ 1-,[(p + 2q)(p' + 2q')p3p'3e 11 2 + 3 similar terms+ 2p2q2r' 3 (p' + 2q')eue31 + 3 similar terms
4pqp'q

'1 l' 'I e, ieas + e'"e"' '

•) 2 2. '2 '2( )]
+ -l'
which also takes the form
_ 1_,.[(p•p'2e11 -p2q'2e 13 -q•p'•e. 31 +q•q'2e33 )2+2pqp'3(71e 11 +qe31 )'+3 similar termsl.
4pqpq -
'.T,he parental table
-tpq
- t P'I q3/4p
yields

and the fraternal table

leads us to the simple expression

~[p3p'3en 2 +P 3'J'Jei:i2 + '13P'3es1 2 + /r/"eaa2J·
1

161"11''1
For uncles aud cousins we obtain respectively+ and tt, of the parental contribution,
while for double cousins tlie table
1
-16'"'

an<l. a quadratic similar to that for the variuuce.

144
 410 R. A. FISfIER ON THE CORRELATION BETWEEN

9. With assortative mating all these coefficients will b~ modified. There will be
association between similar phases of different factors, so that they cannot be
treated separately. There will also be an increase in the variance.
We must determine the nature of the association between different factors,
and ascertain how it is related to the degree of assortative mating necessary to
maintain it. Then we shall be able to investigate the statistical effects of this
association on the variance of the population and on the correlations.
Ifµ be the marital correlation, then in a population with variance V the frequency
of individuals in the range clx is
1 -~
~e d.r=M,

and the frequency in the range dy is

1 -~
--e dy=N·
J:r;'V '
but the frer1uency of matings between these two groups is not simply MN, as would
be the case if there were no marital correlation, but
l ... 1 x'- 2µ.;t:y+y'
~ 2V d.rdy.
2,,.\· Ji-pl
which is e•1ual to

In studying the etfect of assortative mating we shall require to know the

. frequency of matings between two groups, each with a variance nearly equal to
that of the whole population, but centred about means a and b. The frequencies
of such groups in any ranges d.r, dy can be written down, and if the chance of any
mating depends only on a; and y, the frequency of mating between these two groups
can be expressefl as a double integral. If M aml N are the frequencies iu the two
groups, the fret! ueney of mating between them io; found to he

10. We shall apply this expression first to determine the equilibrium value of
the frequencies of the three phases of a single factor. Of the six types of mating
which are possible, all save two yield offspring of the same genetic phase as their
parents. With the inbreeding of the pure forms D x D aufl Rx R obviously no
change is made, aud the same is true of the crosses D x II and Rx H, for each of
these yiel<ls the pure form and the heterozygote in equal numbers. On the other
hanfl, in the cross D x R we have a <lominant and a recessive replaced in the next
generation by two heterozygotes, while in the cross H x H half of the offspring
return to the homozygous condition. For e<1uilibrium the second type of mating

145
 RELATIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OF MENDELIAN INHERITANCE. 411

must be twice as frequent as the first, and if I, J, and K are the means of the
distributions of the three phases,
,...J• µ.IK
~q2.,v =4PRev.
. J2 IK
Smee V and V are small quantities, we shall neglect their s<1uares, and obtain
the equation J 2 -IK
PR - Q2 = Q2µ,-V- (XIII)

If, as before, the two types of gamete are in the ratio p: q, the frequencies of the
three phases are expressed by the e<1uations

(XIV)

It is evident that
PI+2QJ +RK=O (XV)

and this enables us, whenever necessary, to eliminate J, and to treat only I and K
as unknowns. These can only be found when the system of aswciation between
different factors has been ascertained. It will be observed that the changes produced
in P, Q, ancl R are small (1uantities of the second or(ler: in transforming the Y.uantity
2 • J 2 -IK
pq"/L-v-

W0 may write - (p 2I + q2K) for 2pqJ, leading to the form

t./p~l -q2Kr,

which will be found more useful than the other.

11. The nine possible combinations of t11·0 factors will 110t now occur in tbe
simple proportions PP', 2PQ', etc., as is the case when there is 110 association ;
but whatever the nature of the association may be, we shall represent it Ly intro-
ducing new quantities, which by analogy we may expect to be small of the ~econd
order, defined so that the frequency of the type
DD' is PP'(l +/ll),
that of
DH' is 2PQ'(l +/; 2),
and that of
and so on.
Formally, we have introduced ui11e such new unknowns for each pair of factor~,
but since, for instance, the sum of the above three lJUantities must be P, we have
the six eY.uations
l'.1; 1 + 2(,)/~1 + R/~ 1 = 0 ~
P'.t~, + 2Q'.t~ 2 + R'.t;, = °l P/12 + 2Qf2" + R,t~., =U (XVI)

P'.t3, + :lQ'/~2 + R'.fsa = 0 I'J;s + 2Q.f2s + ltf~s = 0

146
 412 R. A. FISHER ON THl~ CORRE!,A.TION BETWEEN

five of which are independent. The unknowns are thus reduced to four, and we
shall use / 11 ,fi 3 ,j;1 ,f<J:i· since any involving a 2 in the suffix' can easily he eliminated.
We have further
l = i + 2: (P'i'/11 + 2Q'.i'.f12 + R' k'.t;s) ~
J=J+z(l''i'.121+2Q'.i'.f22+R'k'.t~a) . . (XVII)
K = k + 2;(P'i'.f3 , + 2Q'J'.f32 + H'k'.t~:i)
m which the summation is extended over all the factors except that one to which
i, J, k refer.Since we are assuming the faetors to be very numerous, after substitut-
ing their values for the f's we may without error extend the summation over all the
factors. The variance defined as the mean square deviation may be evaluated in
terms of the f's
V =~(Pi'+ 2Q.i2 + Rk') + 2.:?:{PP'(I +J; 1 )ii' + 8 other terms},
which reduces to
~(Pi 2 + 21);'2 + Rk") + 2~(PP'ii'.f11 +8 other terms},
so that
V = ~(Pif + 2QJ.T + RkK) . (XVIII)

12. We can only advance beyond these purely formal relations to an actual
evaluation of our unknowns by considering the equilibrium of the different phase
combinations. There are forty-five possible matings of the nine types, but since we
need only eonRi<ler the equilibrium of tlw four homozygous conditions, we need only
pick out the terms, ten in each eaHe, which give rise to them. The method will be
t'Xa.ctly the same as 11·e used for a single factor. Thus the matings DD' x DD' have
the frequency
&±IT
PP'. PP'.(! +/11 )(1 +f11 )e ,. ,
which for onr purpose is e<1ual to
f''l>'{ l + 2.1; 1 +{Y(I + l'f}
Collecting now all the matings which yield DD', we ha\·c for equilibrium
P2r"'l I-.- ~/11 1-f i I +I')' J + '.l l'W1t[ I +/11 +/, 2+~(I+ I')(I + .J')J
t-21'')"2·11 +/11 +.r:,, + v(I + '')(·' + 1·) I+ 2P(,P''tf_ 1 +/11 +.r2, + v<I + I')(J + J')J
+ 21'Ql''<tl I +/12 +/~, + y( I+ J')(J + !')] + p2q2[ I+ ~f",2 + {f-<I +J')2·1
(XIX)
+ q2p'2[ 1 + ~t~, + y(·I !
+ 1')2 ·1+21•111t 2 1 +,t", 2 -t / 22 + f,(1 +.J')(J + .!') l
+ 2Q'l"(/l 1 +/21 + J,, + v(.J + l')l,J + n'I + l/2(/ 2[ I+ ~t~.,+f (J +J'J'l
= PP'(I +/11 )
~ow ><itwe
(P +ll)'(I" ... q'f -1'1"(1' + 2Q + lt)(P' + 21J' + R'J=(q 2 - PR)l" + (Q''- l"R'H'+ (q2 _ PH)(Q''- l"lt'>

* the terms im·oh·mg only P awl l!. r•.,luce (XIII) to the secoud order of small
quantities,

* For (XIII) , read by (XIII) .

147
 REL.&TIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OF MENDELIAN INHERITANCE. 413

- ~(P'Q2(.J2 - IK) + PQ'2(.J'2 - I'K')J= - ~.[p'2(IP- KR)2+ 1'2(I'P' - K'R')2).

Also collecting the terms in I and J, we find

~[(P' + ll)(IP+JQ) + (P+ ln(l'P' + J'Q'))2,

which yields on eliminating J,

{vfp'(Il'-KR)+ p(l'I'' - K'R')r,

while the result of collecting and transforming the terms inf is

!pp'[PP'.f; 1 - PR'.frn - P'~t3 1 + RH/33].
Hence, if the frequency of the type DD' is unchanged
:V11p'(IP- KR)(I'I'' - I\.'R') + !pp'[PPfu - PR'.t"rn-l''H/3 1 + Rl{t3 3 ]=PP/11 (XIX, a)

Now the corresponding equations for the types DR', RD', R'D' may he obtained
simply by substituting K for I, R for P, aml 11ice versa, as require<l ; and each such
change merely reverses the sign of the left-hand side, imhi;tituting q or •/ for JJ or p'
as a factor.
Combining the four equations
N(IP-KR)(l'P'- K'R'J=HPP/11-f'R/,,-RP'.13, + RR/,Bi . (XX)

so that the set of four equations

=
f,(IP-Klt)(l'P' -K'R') pp/11 = -pq'.frn:: -qp'.t3 1 =w'/13 . (XXI)

gives the whole of the conditions of eq uilil1riu111.

13. Substituting now in (XVII), which we may rewrite,
l : i + ~[P'(i' -j')/u -R'(.j' -k')J;;i)
K=k+ ~[P'(i' -.i')/~ 1 -R'(j'-lc').t3 3 ]
we have
IP- KR= il'-klt+ ~f(IP- KR)(I'P' - K'l(')l1/(1' -.i'l + 1/(j"-k')]-il'- kR + A(lf'-KH>,
where
A{l -A)= f~;(i'P' -k'H'![1i(i' -j) +q"(j'- k')]

2
!!!!::....,a~ since ~"=.(il'-kH)
y"'-1'' ~· 2Q
01"
(XXII)

lt would seem that there is an ambiguity in thC' rnlue of A, so that. the samC'
amount of assortative mating would sutlice to maintain two different degrees of
association : we have, however, not yet ascertaine(l the value of V. Since this also
depends upon A, the form of the quadratic is change1l, a11d it will be seen that the
ambiguity disappears.

148
 414 R. A. FISHER ON THE CORHELATION BETWEEN

Supposing A determinate, we may determine the associ!l-tion coefficients /for

12 ''./
1 'P 11
= -1!:- (iP- kR)(i'P' -k'R')pp'
(l-A)2 V
l (XXrII)
2 ·u _ (iP- kR)(i'P' -k'R') ')
µ
pq,1,- - (l-A)2 V pq
Hence
I= i + _µ_ ~ ~[p'(i' - j') + r/(j' - k')](i'P' - k'R')
(1- A) 2
pV
. i'P-kR
µ T2
=•+ (1-A),-p-· V'
and so
. A iP- klt
I =•+---
1- A p
Similarly
K=k-..A_~ (XXIV)
1-A q
and
J=j- ~p-q (i'P-kR)
1- A Zp<f
So that the Rense in which the mean value of the heterozygote is changed by
assortative mating depends only on whether p or <J is greater. ln spite of perfect
dominance, the mean value of the heterozygote will be different from that of the
dominant phase.
The value of the variance (leduced from the expression
V = 2:<PiI + 2QjJ + RkK)
re(luce8 to a similar form. For evidently
V=~a2 + I-A
~. 2:(i'P-kR)[1>(i-j)+q(j-k)].
·
Hence
V= <T 2 + _:!_T2 (XXV)
1-A .

Therefore the equation for A finally takes the form

µTZ = VA(l - A)= A(l - A)<r" + k!T'',
and may be otherwise written
(XXYI)
Now, since the left-hand side is negative when ,\ = I, there eau be only 011e root less
than unity. Sinee, moreover,
. (XXVI, a)

it is evident that this root is less than µ, and approaches that value in the limiting
case when there is no dominance.
A third form of this equation is of importance, for

. (XXVI, b)

which is the ratio of the variance without au<l with the deviations due to dominance.

149
 RELATIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OF MENDELJAN INI-HrnITANCE. 415

14. Multiple Allelomorphism.-The possibility that each factor contains more

than two allelomorphs makes it necessary to extend our analysis to cover the
inheritance of features influenced by such polymorphic factors. In doing this we
abandon the strictly Mendelian mode of inheritance, and treat of GALTON's "par-
ticulate inheritance" in almost its full generality. Since, however, well-authenticated
cases of multiple allelomorphism have been brought to light by the Mendelian method
of research, this generalised conception of inheritance may well be treated as an
extension of the classical Mendelism, which we have so far investigated.
If a factor have a large number, n, of allelomorphs, there will he n homozygous
phases, each of which is associated with a certain deviation of the measurement
under consideration from its mean value. These deviations will be written
iv i 2 , • • • in, and the deviations of the heterozygous phases, of which there are
!n(n -1), will be written j 12 , j 13 , j 23 , and so on. Let the n kinds of gametes exist
with frequencies proportional to p, q, r', s, and so on, then when the mating is
random the homozygous phases must occur with frequencies proportional to p 2 ,
q2 , r 2 , • • • , and the heterozygous phases to '2pq, Zpr, Zqr, ..
Hence, our measurements being from the mean,
(XII*)

As before, we define a2 by the el1uation

p2i12+q2i22+r2i32+ . . . +2pqj,22+2pry'1s2+ . . . =a2 . (1 *)

and choosing l, m, n, ... , so that

p2(2i-i1)2+q2(2m-i2)2+. . 211q(l+m-j 1i)2+2pr(t+n-j 13 ) 2 + . ..

is a minimum, we define f3 2 by
4l2p2+4m2q2+ . . . 2pq(t+m)2+2pr(l+n) 2 • •. ={32,

the condition being fulfilled if

l=pi 1 +<d12+rjrn+ · · · •
m = 1~i12 + qi2 + i:i,,, + · · · ,
and so on.
Now
/$2 = S( 412p 2) + S(2pqt+;. 2 ),
= S(2p(l +p)/2) + S(4pqlm),
and since
pl+qm+rn+ . .. =0,
132 = S(2p/2),

which may now be written as a quadratic in i and j, represented by the typical

terms
2p3i12 + 4p2qid12 + 2pq(p + q)i12a + 4pqrj1J1s·

Now we can construct an association table for parent and child as in Article G,
though it is now more complicated, since the j's cannot be elirninated by equation (XII*),
and its true representation lies in four dimensions; the quadratic in i and j deriYed

150
 416 R. A. FISHER ON THE CORRELATION BETWEEN

from it is, however, exactly one half of that obtained abov~, so that the contribution
of a single factor to the parental product moment is i/3 2• Hence the parental
correlation is
l .,.2

where rand rr retain their previous meanings.

Moreover, from the fraternal table we may obtain a quadratic expression having
for its typical terms
tP2(1 + p)2il2 + tP2q2i1i2 + p2q( I + p)id l2 + p2qrid1s
* ~pq( 1+p+q+2pqlj12 2 + pqi·(I + 2plj 1zj 18 + 2pqrsj, 2j 34 ,

which, when simplified by removing one quarter of the square of the expression m
(XII*) becomes
or, simply,

Here, again, the introduction of multiple allelomorphism does not affect the
simplicity of our results; the correlation between the dominance deviations of
siblings is still exactly t, and the fraternal correlation is diminished by dominance
to exactly one half the extent suffered by the parental correlation. The dominance
ratio plays the same part as it did before, although its interpretation is now more
complex. The fraternal correlation may be written, as in Article 6,
_!_( T2 + !•2).
2112
15. Homogamy and Multiple Allelomv1phism.-The proportions of these different
phases which are in equilibrium when mating is assortative must now be determined.
As in Article l 0, let Ii, 12 , . . • be the mean deviations of the homozygous phases,
and J 12 , J 13 , . . . those of the heterozygous phases. Let the frequency of the first
homozygous phase be written as p 2(1 +/11 ), and the others in the same way. Then,
since p is the frec1ue11cy of the first kind of gamete,
Pfu + '//12 + rJ;" + . . . = 0,
a11d

am l so 011.
Let
pl1 + qJ12 + rJ,s + , .. = L,
pJ12+qI2+r.T22+. · · =M,
and so on, then L, M, . . . represent the mean deviations of iuclividuab giYing ri;;e
to gametes of the ditforeut kinds; hence, by Article 9.
2pq(l +f12)=2pqeV· Llr,
that is,
(XlV*)
The association between the phases of two different factors requires for its repre-
sentation the introduction of association coefficients for each possible pair of phases.
Let the homozygous phases of one factor be numbered arbitrarily from l to m, and

151
 RELATIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OF MENDEI,IAN INHERITANCE. 417

those of the other factor from 1 ton, then, as the phase (12) of the first factor occurs
with frequency 2pq(l +f12), and of the second factor, with frequency 2p'q'(l +J'd,
we shall write the frequency with which these two phases coincide in one individual
as 4pqp'q'(l +f 12 . 12), or as 4pqp'q'(l +f 12) (1 +f ' 12) (1 +f12 . 12 ), so that

The proportional increase of frequency of the gametic combination (l. 1) is

PPJn. n +pq'f11.12+pr'.f'11.18+ · · ·
+qp'.f'12.11 +qq'.f'12.12+qr'.f'12.u+ · · ·
an<l so on.
By virtue of the equations connecting the f's of a single factor, this expression,
which we shall term F 11 , has the same value, whether written with dashed or
undashed f's.
Individuals paving the constitution (12. 12) may be formed by the union either
of gametes (1 . I) and (2. 2), or of gametes (l. 2) and (2. l); hence the equations of
equilibrium are of the form
'.1;f'12. 12= F11 + F22 +v(L + L')(M + M')

+ F12 + F21 +{f(L + M')(M + L'),

hut
~t~ • . 12 = 2/ 12 . 12 - 2/12 - 2/ 12
<)
~ 2/ 12 12 - --;(LM + L'M'),

therefore
(XIX•')

By analogy with Article 12, the solution

/ 12 . 12 = ~(L + M)(L' + M')

suggests itself, ftnd on trial it leads to

Fu=vLL',

and is thereby verified.

Hence we may evaluate L, L', . , for
L=pl,+qJ12+rJ13+... £
=l+~{p'2 i'(nt'11 . 11 +qf,2.11 + · .. ) +2p'1fldPf11. 12+9112 19+ · · .) + · ·
but
pJ;,. 11 + '1112. 11 + · · · = ~L(L' + M'),
therefore
L= t+~L~ { p'2i'(L' + L')+ 2p'q'.f'12(L' + M') + ... }

= l +~L~(2p'l'L' + 2q'm'M' ... ).

152
 418 R. A. l!'ISHER ON THE CORRELATION BETWEEN

Let
L=l+AL,
then
l
L= 1- A'
and
A =v~(2p'l'L' + 2q'rn'M' + ... ),
therefore

therefore
A(l -A)=vr2 • (XXII*)

so that the association constant, A, appearing uow in the constant ratio l: L, plays
exactly the same part in the generalised analysis as it did in the simpler case.
It may now be easily shown that the mean deviations, I and J, may be calculated
from the equations
I . 2Al
I =i1+f:'A
and . (XXIV*)

J 12 =.i"+l ~A (l+m), J
aud that the variance re<luccs, as before, to
(XXV*)

16. Coupling.-[n much modern Mendelian work coupling plays an important

part, although the results of different investigators do not seem as yet to converge
upon any one uniform scheme of coupling. The type found by MORGAN in the
American Fruit Fly (Dl'Osophila) is, however, of peculiar simplicity, and may be found
to be the general type of the phenomenon.
An individual heterozygous in two factors may owe its origin to the union of
either of two pairs of gametes, either ( l . l) x (2. 2) or (l . 2) x (2. 1); when coupling
occurs, the gametes given off by such au individual, of all these four types, do not
appear in equal numbers, preference being given to the two types from which the
in1lividual took its origin. Thus in a typical case these two types might each occur
in 28 per cent. of the gametes, and the other two types in 22 per cent. Coupling of
this type is reversible, and occurs with equal intensity whichever of the two pairs are
supplied by the grandparents. We may have any intensity from zero, when each
type of gamete contributes 25 per cent., to complete coupling, when only the two
original types of gamete are formed, and the segregation takes place as if only one
factor were in action.
The above analysis of polymorphic factors enables us to compare these two extreme
cases; for there are 9 phase combinations of a pair of dimorphic factors, or, if we

153
 Rl!:LATIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OF MENDELIAN JNHER!TANOE. 419

separate the two kinds of double heterozygote, 10, which, apart from inheritance,
can be interpreted as the 4 homozygous and the 6 heterozygous phases of a
tetramorphic factor. The 4 gametic types of this factor are the 4 gametic com-
binations (1. 1), (1. 2), (2. 1), (2. 2).
The meari deviations associated with these 4 gametic types are L + L', M + M', ... ,
and we therefore write
1=L+L', fn=L+M', 'R=M+L', @=M-f-i\l',

Further, if these gametic types occur with frequency,

p = pp'(l + VLL') q= pq'( 1+frLM')

r ='fl'( l+VML') S ~~·/(I +fr mr)
it is clear that the frel1uencies with which the ltomoqgous phases occur,
such a's
p!p';(l+lu.n)=pjp' 2 { l+fr(L2+L'J+·!LL')}

P" { I +~(L + L') 2 } = P'( I +-(7'.JL").

are exactly those produced, if there really were n single tetrnmorphic factor.
In the same way the phases heterozygous iu one factor also agree, for
2p2p'~'(l +f'u. 12) = 2p2p'q' { I + -{7U + L'M' + 2 L( L' + l\f)) }

= 2pq { l + ~(L + L') (L + :\I') } = 2pq( I +~'.JL/ID}

Finally, taking half the double heterozygotes,

2pqp'q'(l + /' 12 . 12 )= 2pqp',/ { l +~(LM + !:M' + ( L + ~!)(L' + ~!'))}

2ps { l +~(L+L')(M + J\1') ~ ~ 2ps(1 +~'.][,@).

or, equally,

From this it appears that a pair of fal'tors is analytically replaceable by a single

factor if the phaKe frequencies be chosen rightly; but the only difference in the
inheritance in these two systems is that in the one case there is no coupling, awl in
the other coupling is complete. It would appear, therefore, tlwt coupling is without
influence upon the statistical properties of the populatiou.
17. The effects both of dominance and of environment may be taken into account
iu calculating the coefficient of correlatiou; if we call .x the actual height of the
individual, y what hi8 height would have Leen under Home standard environment,
and z what his height would have been if in addition, without altering the extent to
which different factors are associated, each phase i>J given its representative value of

154
 420 R. A. FISHER ON THE CORRELATION FIETWEEN

Article 5. Then, since we are using the term e11vironm1rnt formally for arbitrary
external causes independent of heredity, the mean :r of a group so chosen that y = t
for each member will be simply t, but the mean y of a group so chosen that x = t for
each member will be c1 t, where c1 is a constant equal to the ratio of the variance
with environment absolutely uniform to that when difference of environment also
makes its contribution. Similarly for the group z = t, the mean value of y is t, but
for the group y = t the mean z is c2t, where
(XXVIl)

Now, we may find the parental and grand parental correlations from the fact that
the mean z of any sibship is the mean z of its parents; but we shall obtain very
different results in these a8 in other cases, according to the interpretation which we
put upon the observed correlation between parents. For, in the first place, this
correlation may be simply the result of conscious selection. If the correlation for
height stood alone this would be the most natural interpretatioii. But it is found
that there is an independent association of the length of the forearm * : if it is due
to selection it must be quite unconscious, and, as Professor PEARSON points out, the
facts may be explained if to sonrn extent fertility is dependent upon genetic
similarity. Thus there are two possible interpretations of marital correlations.
One regards the association of the apparent eharacteristici; as primary : there
muRt, then, he a less intellsc association of tlie genotype y, and still less of z.
The other regards the association as primarily in y or z, and as appearing somewhat
masked hy environmental effects in the observed correlation. In the first place, let
us suppose the observed correlation in x to be primary.
Then ifµ is the correlation for ;l', c 1µ will be that for y, and this must be written
for µ in the applications of the precelling paragraphs. Hence
A= c1e2J",
and µ, c 1µ and .-\ are the marital correlations for :r, y, and z.
Since the mean z of a sibship is equal to the mean z of it~ par<'llt,.;, we may
calculate the parental and grand.parental correl1ttio11s thus :-For group chosen so
that :c = t : mean y, y = c1t; mean z, z= c1c2t; x of mate is µt; z of mate is c1c 2µt.
Therefore z of children is

*
Hence, since there is llO association except of z between parents and child, the
parental correlation coefficient is

Now. since we know the mean z of the children to be

I +J"
C1Cr-3-t,

* l'E•R'"N and LEE, "Un the Laws of Inheritance in Man," Biomet>·ikti, ii, 374.

155
 RELATIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OF MENDELIAN INHERITANCE. 421

the mean z of their mates is

au<l the grandparental correlation coefficient will be

l+JLl+A
clr.2-r- -2-

Similar!y, that for the (n + I )th parent will he

l + /L (I+ A)"
C1C22 ~'

g1vmg the Law of Ancestral Heredity as a necessary consequence of the foetorial

mode of inheritance.
18. If we suppose, on the other hand, that the association is essentially in y, the
µ .
coefficient of correlation between y of husba!l<l and y of wife must hc - m order to
C1
yield an apparent correlation µ, Also

and

The parental correlation found as before is now

c
l' 1 2 + Ac 1
2 '

and the higher ancestors are given by the general form

c1c2 +Ac 1 (1 +A)",
2 . 2
although A is now differently related to Ci. c2 , and µ,
In the third case, where the essential connection is between z of husband and z of
wife-and this is a possible case if the association is wholly due to selective fertility
or to the selection of other features affected by the same factors-the eq nation between
the correlations for y and z is changerl, for now the marital correlntiou for y is e(1ual
to Ac2 when we retain the definition

Hence also

and the correlation coefficients in the ancestral line take the general form

19. On the first of these theories a knowledge of the marital and the parental
correlations should be sufticient to determine c1c2 , and thence to deduce the constant
ratio of the ancestral coefficients.

156
422 R. A. FISHER ON TH~~ CORRELATION BETWEEN

Thus for three human measurements:-

Stature. Span. Forearm.
µ ·2804 ·1989 ·1977
JI ·5066 ·4541 ·4180
C1C2 ·7913 ·7575 ·6980
A ·2219 ·1507 ·1377
!(!+A) ·6109 ·5753 •5689
These figures are deduced from those given by PRARBON and LEE (lot. cit.), neglecting sex <listinctions, which
are there found to be insignificant, and raking the weighted means.

These values for !{I+ A) agree very satisfactorily with the two ratios of the
ancestral correlations which have been obtained, "6167 for eye colour in man, and
"6602 for coat colour in horses. It is evident that if we also knew the ratio of the
ancestral correlations for these features, we could make a direct determination of A
and ascertain to what extent it is the cause and to what extent an effect of the
observed marital correlation.
20. The correlations for sibs, double cousins, and more distant relations of the
sar.1e type, in which all the ancestors of a certain degree are common, may be found
by considering the variance of the group of collaterals descended from such ancestors.
The variance of a sibship, for example, depends, apart from environment, only upon
the number of factors in which the parents are heterozygous, and since the proportion
of heterozygotcs is only tliminished by a quantity of the second order, the mean
variance of the sibships must be taken for our purposes to have the value appropriate
to random mating,

v
plus the quantity - - V due to environment. But the variance of the population
C1
is V/c 1 ; and the ratio of the two variances must be 1-.f; where f is the fraternal
correlation. Hence
-f(l
f = + c2 + 2c 2 A).
In the same way, the variance for a group of double cousins is unaffected by
selective mating, and we find the correlation coefficient for double cousins to be
c
ji(l + 3c 2 +12c~A),

showing how the effect of selective mating increases for the more distant kin.
Ou the first hypothesis, then, we must write,
A
p.=-,
C1C2

l +p.
J>=C1C2-r'
and
J=..'.:!(l +c.(l +2A)).
4

157
 RELATIVES ON THE SlJPPOSITION OF MENDELIAN INHERITANCE, 423

21. We shall use this formula for the fraternal correlation to estimate the relative
importance of dominance and environment in the data derived from the figures given
by PEARSON and LEE.
Assuming as the observed correlations

Stature. Span. Cubit.

µ. •2804 ·1989 ·1977
p •5066 ·4541 •4180
f ·5433 ·5351 ·4619

we obtain as before
·7913 ·7575 ·6980
·2219 ·1507 ·1377

and calculating c1 from the formula

we obtain the three values

! •031 l ·155 ·957

with a standard error of '072, and a mean of l '048.

This relatively large standard error, due principally to our comparative iguorance
of the fraternal correlations (errors iu µ have scarcely any effect, and those iu p
are relatively unimportant), prevents us from making on a basis of these results
a close estimate of the contribution8 to the total variance of the factors under
consideration.
Remembering that c1 is intrinsically less than unity, the second value is
inexplicably high, whilst the first arn1 thir<l are consistent with any value sufficiently
near to unity. The mean of these results is materially greater than u•1ity, and
therefore gives no support to the supposition that there is any cause of variance in
these growth features other than genetic differences. If this is so, we should put
c1=1, and compare the observed values off with those calculated from the formula

4/= 1 +c2(1 +2A).

With their standard errors we obtain

St&turo. Span. Cubit. Standar<l Error.
Observed ·5433 ·53.51 •4619 ·016
Calculated •5356 •4964 •4726 ·oos
Difference - ·oon -·038i +·0107 •018

The exceptiouul tlift'ereuce in the fraternal correlations for spau mig!t t, perhaps,
be due to the effects of epistacy, or it may be that the terms which we have neglected,
which depend upon the finiteness of the number of factorr-, have some iufluence. It
is more likely, as we shall see, that the assumption of direct sexual selection is

158
424 R. A. FISHER ON THE CORRELATION· BETWEEN

not justified for this feature. Accepting the above results for stature, we may ascribe
the following percentages of the total variance to their respective causes :-
Ancestry . . 54 per cent.
Variance of sibship:
1r2 31 per cent.
f ,2 15
Other causes
46
100 per cent..
Again it may be divided:
Genotypes ( a-2) :
Essential genotypes (r2) 62 per cent.
Dominance deviations (,2) 21
83 per cent.
Association of factors by homogamy 17
Other causes

100 per cent.

These <leterminations are subject, a8 we have seen, to eousiderable erroris of

random sampling, but our figures are sufficient to show that, on this hypothesis, it
is very unlikely that 80 much as 5 per cent. of the total variance is due to causes
not heritable, especially as every irregularity of inheritance would, in the above
analysis, appear as such a cause.
It is important to see that the large effect ascribed to dominance can really be
2
produced by ordinary Mendelian factors. The dominance ratio, ;, which may be(1"

detennine<l from the eorrelatiom;, has its numerator an<l denominator composed of
elements, cJ2 and a 2 , belonging to the irnlividual factor;<. We may thereby ascertain
certain limitationH to which our factors must be subject if they are successfully to
interpret the existi11g results. The values of the dominance ratio in these three cases
are found to be :
Stature. Span. Cnhit. Standard ~:rror.
Dominance ratio •253 ·274 ·336 •045

:2:2. The correlations for uncles a1ul cousius, still aKsumiug that the association of
factors is due to a direct selection of the feature .r, may be obtaine(l by the methods
of Article 1-!, using the two series already obtained : that for ancestors

. , 1+µ(l +A)"
"''"T -~- ,
aud that for collateralR, like sibs and double cousins, which have all their ancestors of
a certain degree in common,
te,[l +c,(l +2A)),
nc 1[ 1+3c,(l + 4A)),
a ud so on.

159
 RELATIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OF MENDELIAN INHERJTANCK 425

Thus if a group be chosen so that x = t,

!i of groupis c1I,
i of group is c1c2t,
. c c l- +At
-Z 0 f 81"bS IS - ,
1 2
2
also
!i of sibs is !c1(1 +c2(1 +2A)]t,
7i of sibs mates is !c1[1 + c2(1+2A))oip.1,
i of sills mates is !c1 (1 +c2(1 +2A)]At.
Hence
i of uepbews is !r,1[2c,(l +A)+ {l +r 2(1 + 2A) }A ]I,
giving the correlation
1·1c2(1 ~Ar +!"1A(I - C2)·
Again for cousins, if a group be chosen so that x = t, we have
g of uncles is [ C1C2(1 ~Ar+ hA(l - c,)}·
z of uncles is r1c2(1 ~A y,
and

hence

giving the correlation

' (I +A)S
c1~2 ~ l 'A'(l
+nc1 ')
-c2 •

The formulre show that these two correlations should differ little from those for
grandparent and great-grandparent, using the values already foun<l, and putting
c1 = l we have
Stature. Span. Cubit.
Grandparent ·3095 •2fil2 ·2378
Great-grandparent ·1891 •1503 •1353
Uncle ·3011 ·2553 ·:?311
Cousin ·1809 ·1445 '1288
23. On the third supposition, that the marital correlation is due primarily to an
association in the essential genotype z, we obtain results in some respects more
intelligible and in accordance with our existing knowledge.
From the fundamental equations
I'= c1c2 A,
p = !(ci"2 + p.),
we may deduce
C1C2 =7.p-p.,
A= p./(2p- p.),
whence the following table is calculated:-
Stature. Span. Cubit. Standard Error.
I' •280! •!989 ·1977 •0304
p ·5066 ·4541 ·4180 ·0115
f ·5433 ·5351 ·4619 •0160
C1C2 ·7328 ·i093 ·6383 ·038
A ·3826 ·2804 •3097 •028
!(I+ A) ·6913 ·6402 ·6549 ·014

160
426 R. A. FISHER ON THE CORRELATION BETWEEN

and making use of the fraternal correlations to separate c1 and c 2 , by the equations
.f = !c1(1 + c2(1 + 2A) ],
or
c1 =4/-2p-p.,
we obtain
c, ·8796 1·0333 •8139 . ··078
C2 ·8331 •6864 ·7842 •077
,2
·2450 ·3883 ·2850 ·105
;;'l

The standard error for the dominance ratio is riow very high, since the latter is
proportional to the difference f- p. If we assume a known value for ci, and calculate
the dominance ratio from p an<l µ only, the standard error falls nearly to its value ip
Article 18.
The three values for the ratio of the ancestral correlations '691, '640, '655 are
now higher than that obtained from observations of eye colour, and are more similar
to the value '660 obtained for the coat colour of horses. Without knowing the
marital correlations in these cases, it is not possible to press the comparison further.
It would seem unlikely that the conscious choice of a mate is less influenced by eye
colour than by growth features, even by stature. But it is not at all unlikely that
eye colour is but slightly correlated with other features, while the growth features
we know to be highly correlated, so that a relatively slight selection in a number of
the latter might produce a closer correlation in each of them than a relatively intense
selection of eye colour.
The value of c1 for span is still greater than unity, l '033, but no longer unreason-
ably so, since the standard error is about '078. If we were considering span alone the
evidence would be strongly in favour of our third hypothesis. A remarkable con-
firmation of this is that PEARSON and Lg~: (we. cit., p. 375), consiilering organic and
marital correlations alone; show that the observed correlations could be accounted
for by the following direct selection coefficients :-
Stature. Span. Cubit.
•2374 ·0053 ·1043

Naturally these cannot be taken as final, since there are a large number of other
features, which may be connected with these and at the same time may be subject to
sexual selection. The correlations of cross assortative mating are in fact smaller
than they would be if direct selection to this extent were actually takii;ig place. The
influence of other features prevents us from determining what proportion of the
observed association is due to direct selection, but if inheritance in these growth
features is capable of representation on a Mendelian scheme-and our results have
gone far to show that this is likely-it would be possible to distinguish the two parts
by comparing the parental and fraternal correlations with those for grandparents
and other kindred.
On our present supposition that the association is primarily in z, and for the case

161
 RELATIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OF MENDELIAN INHERITANCE. 427

of span this seems likely, the correlations for uncle and cousin will be the same as
those for grandparent and great··grandparent, being given by the forrnulre
c+Ar
C1<:2 ~ and C1C2
(1 ~ Ay '

leading to the numbers

Stature. Span. Cubit.
Grandparent ·3502 ·2907 ·2737
Great-grandparent . •2421 ·1861 •1793

24. Neither these nor the similar table for the first hypothesis aecord ill with
the value obtained for uncle and nephew, '265, from measurements of eye colour. J t
may, however, be thought that neither of them give high enough value for cousins.
Certainly they do not approach some of tl~e values found by Miss ELDERTON in her
memoir on the resemblance of first cousins (Eugenics Laboratory ,'4£emoirs, iv).
Series are there found to give correlations over ·5, aud the mean correlation for the
measured features is '336. From special considerations this is reduced to ·~70, but
if the similarity of first cousins is due to inheritance, it must certainly be less thau
that between uncle and nephew. No theory of inheritance could make the correla-
tion for cousins larger than or even so large as that for the nearer relationship.
It will be of interest finally to interpret our results on the assumption that the
figures quoted (Article 20) represent actual coefficients of selection. Manifestly it
would be better to obtain the value of A experimentally from the ratio of the
ancestral correlations, using the collateral correlations to determi1rn what are the
marital correlations for y. For the present we must neglect the pos8ibility of a11
independent selection in y; and although we know that the figures are not final, we
shall write s, the coefficient of selection, equal to ·237 4, '0058, awl · 1O-t3 in om·
three cases.
Further, let
so that
whence we <leduc\"
Stature. Span. Cubit.
·7841 ·7108 ·6725
•2410 •2761 •20110
·6205 ·6381 ·60-11\

the values of A being now in much closer agreement for the three features.
Further. from thf' frnternal eorrt•lation we; have
cl • . 1·0112 l ·0370 ·8940
with a nwau at '9H:l 1•
. "·\gain. for the tlominauce ratio
•2763 •3880 •2940 ·3194 (meau),

·leaving·a trifle under 2 pPr cent. for <·aus\"s not hf'rital1le, but requiring high valuPs
about ·32 for the dominance ratio •

.'j

162
428 R. A. FISHER ON THE CORRELATION BETWEEN

25. The Interpretation of the Statistical Effects of Dominance.-The results

which we have obtained, although subject to large probable errors and to theoretical
reservations which render au exact estimate of these errors impossible, suggest that
2
the ratio ;(T , the statistical measure of the extent of dominance, has values of about

·25 to '38. [n his initial memoir on this subject KARL PEARSON has shown that,
under the restricted conditions there considered, this ratio should be exactly ~.
Subsequently UDNY YULE (Conference on Genetics) pointed out that the parental
correlation coul(l be raised from the low values reached in that memoir to values
more in acconlance with the available figures by the partial or total abandonment of
the assumption of dominance. To this view Professor PEARSON subsetiuently gave
his approval ; but it does not seem to have been observed that if lower values a.re
required-and our analysis tends to show that they are not-the statistical effects are
governed not only by the physical ratio <!:..., but by the proportions in which the three
a
'.\>Tendelian phases are present. This effect is an important one, and very considerably
modifies the conclusions which we should draw from any observed value of the
dmn inauce ratio.
3"'
The fraction ~,of which the 11umerator and denominator are the contributions of
a
a single factor to •2 and o- 2 , is equal, as we have seen (Article 5, equations V-VTJ) to

2p<d 2

and depends wholly upon the two ratios~ and I!.. \Ve 111ay therefore represeut the
a <[
variation;; of this fumtion by llrnwing the curn:s for which it has n series of constant
\'alues upon a plane, each point on \\'hich i~ specified by a pair of particula1· ndu<'s
for these two rntios. Tl1(' ac,·om pa11yi11g diagrnm (fig. I, p. 430) shmrn such a H«rie>< of
1
Cul·ve",
~ u.s·mg -d all• l 1og 1
- as co-or' 1·Ilia t.es. 'l'l ie 1ogan"th m 1s
. t' l1ose11 as a \·ana
. 11i c,
a 'I
because P'fual inten,,;ity of .wlectiou will af!f·et this •prnntity to an e'lual extent, \\·hat-
ever may be its ntlue; it also posRessr>.-< the great arhantag<' of showing reciprocal
vnlut>s off.. in symmetrical po,..itio11s.
q
lt 11ill lw ·'('('ll tliat ·:l i, not b_1 auy means the highest rnlue possible: wheu d a.
and when t!.
</
is ,·en· grrat. a111·. ,·aluc u1i to unit)' mav• ai>pear ·' hut hial1
. ' 0
,·alues are

confined to thi,; restrictt•d region.

. '.!:.. is less tlia11 ·3 the ratio
\\'he11 a i~ never nureater

than ·05. aud we cauuot get \'alucs-n.-; high a~ · 1 ;) unless:!.. be as urt>at a~ ·:i. On the
a "'

163
 RELATIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OP MENDELIAN LNHEHITANCE. 429

other hand, all values down to zero are consistent with complete dominance, provided
that the values of E.
are sufficiently small.
q
We know practically nothing about the fre'l ueucy distrihution of these two ratios.
The ccmditions under which Mendelian factors arise, disappear, or become rriodifieC!
are unknown. It has been suggesteCI that they invariably arise as recessive mutations
in a dominant population. In that case I!. would initially be very hicrh and could
1 b '

only be lowere1l if by further mutation, anfl later by selection, the recessive phase
became more frequent. These factors would, however, have little individual weight
if better balanced factors were present, m1 til !.!. harl hern lowered to about l O. In
, If
face of these theories it cannot he taken for granted that the <li,;tributiou of these
ratios is a i;imple one. It ii; natural, though possibly 11ot permissible, to think of
their distributions as inde1ie11deut. We may profitably eouRidcr further the case in
which the rlistribution is symmetrical, iu which the factor of known a and d is
equally likely to be more frequent in the dorni11ant as i11 the recessive phase.
For this case we combine the numeratorH aud 1le11omi11ators of the two fractions
'21u1d
2
"nu 2pqd"
(p +q)'a' - 2( p 2 - 1/')ad + (11 2 + </')d" (I'+ <JFa 2 + 2(/'2 - q2 )ad + (1J 2 + </)d2 ·

and obtai11 the joint coutrihutio11

(l' + q)'a' + (J<" + 1/)rl" ·

the curves for which are shown in fig. :2, rcpreH<,11ti11g the combined etl'eet of two
similar factors, having their phases in i11nrse proportion;;. 1t will be 8een that
complete dominance does not preclude the po;;sihility of lo\\' value for the tlominauce
ratio: the latter might fall helow '0:2 if the greater part of the variance were con-
tributed by factors having the ratio betweeu p and 11 as high as 100 to l. This ratio
is exceedingly high; for snch a factor only one individual in 10,000 would be a
recessive. We may compare the fre<1ue11cy of deaf mutism with which about one
child in 4000 of normal 1iarents i.s said to be afflicted, It would be surprising if more
equal proportions were not more common, and if this were so, they would have by far
the greater weight.
'fhe fact that the same intensity of selection affects the logarithm of !!.. e<1ually,
q
whatever its value may be, suggests that this function may be distributed approxi-
mately according to the law of errors. This is a natural extension of the assumptiou
of symmetry, and is subject to the same reservations. For instance, a faetor iu
which the dominant phase is the commonest woul\l seem less likely to suffer severe
selection than one in which the recessive phase out11umbcrs the other. But if
symmetry be granted, our choice of a variable justifies the consideration of a normal
distribution.

164
430 R. A. FISHER ON THE CORRELATION BETWEEN

·9

·8

·7

.,,.!'!.
~
0 ·6
:'l
~
"
-;;
·5

·4

FIG. J.-V&lueo of log,, (p/q) (upper figures) and of p/q (lower figures).

·10 ·05
10 -~--~-

_l _____
--1---
T__ _
--~ ----+----- - -
__ · -t-t
I I 1 I

-4=f=+--
I
I--'--·-+-----"+-·--_._._--+--_,__ _...__.
I I

J____ ,__---+--

·2 ----'--~~ -~-+---.,..J-~-+--+--i
.__[
·4 ·6
4
·8
6
I ()
10
l·Z
16 zo
J.4 J·6 I& zo
lO 60 100

Fw. 2.-Vahks or log]U (p/q} (opper figur(•fj) uni! of µfrJ (lowf'r ligur\'s).

165
 RELATIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OF MENDELIAN INHERITANCE. 431

O 0,__ __,_4---...18---,..1.2---,.L.5_ _ _2.L·0_ _ _ 2·l..8_ _ _3J...2_ _ _

2l..-4_ _ _ 3L6_ __J4·0

Fw. 8.-Values of,,. log10 •= ·4343.,._

·51---
~
·4 ~-+---IJ__------+....~+----+---+---l·--t-----1---

1 - - 1_ __.L--,... - '
·3~----l'----~---l----1----+----1-----,..__ _ __,._.__ __,____ _

·2 1 - - - - - 1 - - - 1 - - - - 1 - - - - 1 - - - -J...__ _ _,_____ _ _~--- ··-----+----•

·I'----'---~------'----+-----+----+--- ··-··+----

0
0 ·2 ·4
l
·6 ·8 l·O 12 14 I 6 1·8 20
4 8 10 20 40 100

Fm. 4.- Ya1ue~ of log10 of standard ratio (upper ligures) and of standard ratio (lower figures).

166
432 H. A. FI8HER ON THE CORRELA'rION BETWEEN

Writing~ for log, E. and (J' for the standard deviation oft, we have
q
p = elf/2 co~h H• q = .-tt/2 cosh !f, and 2pq = ~ sech 2 H·

Hence we have to evaluate

E= _J_j"' ! sech H. e-1'12..d~ = ~f"'

<T..(2; -(I)
2
...,2.,,.
! sech2 ~e- tr,i~
-oo -
. (XXYIH)

and the dominance ratio derived from the whole group is

F.:d2

E is a function of i; only, which decreases steadily from its value+ when IT= 0,
approaching when IT is large to the function 2~· The function ( 16 + 16tr2 + !.u4 2 )'•l
IT"' 271' 4
osculates it at the origin, and appears on trial to represent it effectively to three
significant figures. This function has been used for calculating the form of the
a0companying curves. Fig. 3 shows the course of the function E. Fig. 4 gives the
curves comparable to those of figs. I and 2, showing the value of the dominance
ratio for different values ~ and IT, If the assumptions upon which this diagram is
a
based are justified, we are now advanced some way towards the interpretation of an
observed dominance ratio. A ratio of ·25 gives us a lower limit of about '8 for
<!:., and no upper limit. If the possibility of superdominance (d>ti) is excluded, then
a
the ratio of the phases must be so distributed that the stanrlard ratio e• is not greater
than about 3: I. A greater value of the standard rntio would make the effect of
dominance too small ; a smaller value could be counteracte<l by a slight reduction of
d
\\' e ha Ye tliercfore no reaso11 to infer from our dominance ratios that clominance
a
is incomplete. \\' c may speak of it us having at least four-fifths of its full Yalue,
hut we can sl't 110 upper limit to it.
2G. Throughout thi~ work it has beeu necessary not to introduce any a\'oiclable
complications, a11C'l for this reason the possibilities of Epistaey have only heen
touchecl upon, awl slllall jiunntities of the i;econcl orcler ha\'C heen steadily ignored.
In spite of this, it is heliend that the statistical properties of auy feature cleterminccl
liy a large 11u111 lier of ~I enclelian factors ha Ye been successfully elucidated. Vue
allowa11n• has lH'e11 macle for the factors differing in the magnitucle of thl•ir l'ffe<'ts,
a11d i11 their dc>grt>e of <lomina11<'.l', for the possibility of :\lultiple Allelomorphism, and
of one importa11t type of Coupling. The effect of the clominance in the incli,·itlual
factors has been seen to express itself in a single Dominance Ratio. Further, the
dfect of marital corrclutiou has been fully examinecl, and the relation betweeu this
association a11cl thl' coetticient of marital correlation has been made clear.
By means of the fraternal correlation it is possible to ascertain the dominance

167
 RELATIVES ON THE SUPPOSITION OF :MENDELIAN INHERITANCE. 433

ratio and so distinguish dominance from all non-genetic causes, such as

which might tend to lower the correlations : this is due to the in siblings
of the effects of dominance which causes the fraternal correlation to exceed the
parental. The fact that this excess of the fraternal correlation is very generally
observ.ed is itself evidence in favour of the hypothesis of cumulative facto-rs. On
this hypothesis it is possible to calculate the numerical influence not only of
dominance, but of the total genetic and non-genetic causes of variability. An
examination of the best available figures for human measurements shows that there
is little or no indication of non-genetic causes. The closest scrutiny is invited on
this point, not only on account of the practical importance of the predominant
influence of natural inheritance, but because the significance of the fraternal correla-
tion in this connection has not previously been realised.
Some ambiguity still remains as to the causes of marital correlations : our
numerical conclusions are considerably affected according as this is assumed to be of
purely somatic or purely genetic origin. It is striking that the indications of the
present analy1;is are in close agreement with the conclusions of PEARSON anrl LEE as
to the genetic origin of a part of the marital correlation, drawn from the effect of the
correlation of one organ with anotlu~r in causing the selection of one organ to inrnlve
the selection of another. This difficulty will, it is hoperl, be resolved when accurate
determinations are available of the ratio of the grand parental to the parental correla-
tion. From this ratio the degree of genetic association may be immediately obtained,
which will make our analysis of the Variance as precise as the prohahle errors will
allow.
In general, the hypothesis of cumulative Mendelian factors seems to fit the facts
very accurately. The only marke<l discrepancy from existing publishe<l work lies in
the correlation for first cousins. SNOW. owing apparently to an error, would make
this as high as the avuncular correlation ; in our opinion it should ditfrr by little
from that of the great-grandparent. The values foun<l by Miss ELDERTON are certainly
extremely high, but until we have a record of complete cousiu,.;hips measured
accurately and without selection, it will not be possible to obtain satisfactory
numerical evidence on this question. As with cousins, so we may !10pe that more
extensive measurements will gradually lead to values for the other relationship
correlations with smaller standard enors. Especially wou!tl more accurate <leter-
minations of the fraternal correlation make our conclusions more exact.
Finally, it is a pleasure to acknowledge my indebtedness to ~Iajor LEONARD
DARWIN, at whose suggestion this in<juiry was first undertaken, and to whose kindness
and advice it owes its completion.

COMMENT
See Moran, P.A.P. and Smith, C.A.B. (1966) Comrnenta:ry on R.A. Fisher's
paper on the aorrefotion between relatives on the suppositfon of
Mendeiian inheritanae. Eugenics Laboratory Memoirs XLI pp.62
(Cambridge University Press).

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