57 



'breeding to meet definite requirements. Changed seasonal, soil, and cli- 

 matic conditions will often render worthless what are otherwise promising 

 ■varieties. It is believed to be impossible to originate a variety of plant 

 that is of universal value, and the transfer of valuable sorts to regions of 

 markedly different character was said to be usually followed by disap- 

 pointing results. 



A high compliment was paid to the plant-breeding work that has been 

 (iarried on in this country. One of the foreign guests declared that greater 

 advance is being made along this line in the United States than in any 

 other country, the great range ot soil, climate, and necessities making such 

 work possible. 



The value of such a meeting in arousing an interest in the subject of 

 plant breeding can hardly be estimated. The description of methods, 

 criticism of results, and the application of principles were given and taken 

 in a spirit of scientific earnestness, und the enthusiasm aroused will be 

 continued and exhibited in the wide extension of the work. 



The systematic work which is being done in plant breeding, including the 

 study of principles governing it, is worthy of imitation in animal breeding* 

 The field is quite as attractive, as far as possibilities of useful results are 

 concerned. The breeding or selection of plants resistant to disease sug- 

 gests that something might be done with animals in producing strains 

 more vig 'reus or resistant to some of our troublesome diseases. In this 

 connection some recent experiments reported from Algeria in attempts to 

 combat Texas fever are interesting. In the search for some animal of the 

 bovine kind which was immune to Texas fever, it was found that both the 

 buffalo and zebu were naturally resistant to this disease. The buffalo 

 could not be crossed with the domestic cattle, and appeared to be for other 

 reasons less desirable than the zebu as a substitute for cattle. It was 

 found that the zebu crossed readily with different races of cattle, and that 

 all hybrids thus -obtained were perfectly immune to Texas fever. The 

 female hybrids bfttween the zebu and d anestic cattle were found to be 

 very fertile, while the males were well adapted to the production of beef 

 or to performing work of various kinds. The hybrids attained a weight 

 of about 360 kg. (792 lbs.) at an age of li years and the dressed weight 

 averaged about 62 per cent of the live weight. The large hump composed 

 of muscle and fat tissue and situated over the shoulders of the zebu largely 

 disappears in the hybrid. The bones are unusually small and of a delicate 

 nature. The meat is said to be of good quality. The milk of the zebu or 

 of the hybrid is claimed to be richer than that of the ordinary Arabian 

 cow. The zebu gives from 6 to 8 quarts per day, while hybrids yield 

 from 15 to 16 quarts. Three different races of z^^bushave been introduced 

 into Algeria, one from Madagascar, one from Cochin-China and a third 

 from India- The third, or Brahmin race, is the only one which proved 

 to be of economic importance and is the one from which the present zebus 

 and hybrids of Algeria have descendf^d. 



Review of Papers 



By Walter H. Evans, Ph. D. 

 Of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 



An international conference on plant breeding and hybridization was 

 Ixeld in New York City, September 30 to October 2, 19 2, under the 

 auspices of the Horticultural Society of New York, with James Wood as 

 president and Leonard Barron, secretary. About SO delegates were 

 prsent, representing difiereut parts of the United States, Canada, England 



