Phielip Levine New York

In addition it may be of interest to put on record the results of tests in two among a number of families8 examined in which the results vary from those already published. In one family both parents found the substance tasteless in each of three different tests, the father stating on two of these occasions that the substance was not at all bitter but only very slightly sour. Of the six children tested, five found the substance to be very bitter, the sixth child reporting the substance to be tasteless. On a retest of two of the children (one of whom was a non-taster), the results were confirmed. In the second family the father found the substance to be very slightly bitter, remarking that he hardly would have noticed the taste. The mother found the substance tasteless. Of the six children tested, four children, the two oldest and two youngest, reported the substance to be tasteless, while two children, nine and seven years, respectively, found it to be bitter, in one case very bitter. The parents and the children in each of the two families seemed to be quite intelligent and their responses to the test were definite. In neither of the two families was any suspicion of illegitimacy, either from the history or from blood tests. It may be worth while mentioning that in his study Blakeslee found individuals who did not perceive a bitter taste but noticed a taste of another sort. PHIELIP LEVINE NEW YORK ARTHUR S. ANDERSON LAWRENCE, KANSAS