No. 6. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 435 



A Member: Has the time of service of the female anything to do 

 v\ith the progeny, whether male or female? 



PROF. SHAW: Absolutely nothing. 



A Member: I did not understand the question. 



PROF. SHAW: The question was as to the time of heat in a female, 

 whether it has any influence in determining sex. I say absolutely 

 none. Now when a male is running with the females of the herd we 

 can naturally suppose that the service takes place at the earliest 

 time possible. Now what do you find? We find some seasons that 

 almost every animal born is a male, while in other seasons in the 

 same herd, almost every animal born is a female. 



The SECRETARY: So that the theory that if you want males, you 

 must wait until the period of mating is nearly closed, goes for naught 

 also? 



PROF. SHAW: Exactly so. 



MR. HUTCHISON: Is it not true that some cows will have almost 

 all male calves, and others almost all female calves? 



PROF. SHAW: That is certainly true; some cows will produce 

 nearlv all males, some almost all females, then on the other hand. 

 some sires will beget a great preponderance of females and other 

 sires a great preponderance of males. What the reasons are, we 

 do not understand. 



A Member: In this question of cross-breeding, isn't it a fact that 

 in crossing the Jerseys and Holsteins, we are likely to get a progeny 

 partaking more of the Jersey qualities than of the Holstein? 



PROF. SHAW: I have not had experience or observation sufficient 

 in connection with line of breeding to answer that question satis- 

 factorily to myself. 



MR. HERR: Which would you say was the better, to cross the 

 Jersey male with a Holstein female, or the reverse? 



PROF. SHAW: That depends upon what you want, and it depends 

 to some extent also on the individual animals, how that thing should 

 be done. Now I would answer that question in a general way by 

 making the statement that sometimes it has been found better to use 

 the sire of one breed for that crossing, and the dam from another, 

 where it can be done, as the results have shown that that is the best 

 way of doing it. But to reason beforehand that it would be so, would 

 be an impossible thing: the fact has been observed, but the reasons 

 for the fact are not knowm. 



MR. WELD: In breeding can we influence the size or the number of 

 offspring in any way? 



PROF. SHAW: I would say that I think we can influence I lie 

 number of offspring in the litters from swine, and I think we can 

 in sheep, by the way in which we manage the mating; I think we 

 can influence it to some extent, probably not to the extent that we 

 desire. It has been noticed that when both sire and dam are im- 

 proving at the time of mating — that is to say they are building up, 

 they are getting more flesh, they are gaining in vigor, they are likely 



