BUBEAU OF ANIMAL. INDUSTRY. 105 



An inbreeding experiment with White Leghorn poultry has been 

 begun in cooperation with the poultry office. The primary object is 

 the production of purified strains. Another object is to test the 

 possibility of obtaining superior strains from particular crosses be- 

 tween inbred strains. A somewhat similar project with hogs is 

 under way. 



The study of the relative importance of heredity and other factors 

 in the resistance of guinea pigs to tuberculosis has been continued in 

 cooperation with Dr. Paul A. Lewis, of the Henry Phipps Institute 

 of Philadelphia. Tlie new results confirm those previously obtained 

 and put the major conclusions beyond doubt. 



A large amount of time has been devoted to the statistical analysis 

 of various questions connected with livestock production. The re- 

 lations between fluctuations in the quantities and prices of corn, hay, 

 and livestock during 43 years preceding the war have been studied 

 by the methods of multiple correlation and path coefficients based on 

 some 2.400 primary coefficients of correlation. Similar methods are 

 being applied to the statistical analysis of data collected in connec- 

 tion with the investigations relating to range sheep, soft pork, and 

 other subjects. 



BEEF CATTLE INVESTIGATIONS. 



Investigations in the production and fattening of beef cattle have 

 been continued in the Appalachian region, the Corn Belt, the Cotton 

 Belt, and tlie Western and Southwestern range areas. All experi- 

 mental work is done cooperatively with the respective State agricul- 

 tural experiment stations. The investigations in the Corn Belt and 

 range areas are carried on in cooperation with the Bureau of Agri- 

 cultural Lconomics of the department, as well as with the State sta- 

 tions. Details can not very well be given in a report of this kind, 

 but tlie results are published in other forms from time to time. 



WINTERING STEERS IN THE APPALACHIAN REGION. 



At Lewisburg. W. Va., the final year's work in a three-year experi- 

 ment in wintering steers was begun December 22, 1921, with six lots 

 of ten 2-year-old steers each, to compare the effects of winter rations 

 on the gains made by them as S-j^ear-old steers on grass the following 

 summer. Data for three winters and two summers are now available. 



FATTENING STEERS IN THE CORN BELT. 



Investigations in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska 

 to determine the basic requirements in feed, labor, and miscellaneous 

 items in fattening beef cattle, planned to cover a period of five j'ears, 

 are now in their fourth year. Approximately 100- feeding records 

 have been taken annually in each of the five States. The total yearly 

 survey involves from 18,000 to 20,000 head of beef cattle. The sur- 

 veys make it possible to compare the methods and economy" of pro- 

 duction. 



FEEDING BEEF CATTLE IN THE COTTON BELT. 



At the Coastal Plain Experiment Station, McNeill, Miss., a breeding 

 herd of beef cattle is maintained to determine the rate of gains, the 

 seasonal gains, and the grazing season of burned range pasture grazed 



