ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 379 



be likely to appeal to the butcher, the dealer, or the wool merchant, are 

 hardly likely to turn out less complicated than horns or face color. 



Improving' Australasian sheep {Live titock Jour. [London], 70 (1909). No. 

 1858, p. 533, fig. 1). — A statistical note on the growth of the sheep industry 

 and the improvement of the fleece. The number of sheep is again increasing 

 and it is expected the high level mark of 1890 will soon be reached. The aver- 

 age weight of the fleece in 18G1 was 4.69 lbs., in 1901, 7.90 lbs. The weight has 

 also increased since that time. Recent mutton types including Shropshire, 

 TJacoln. Leicester, and Dorset Horn breeds have grown in popularity in South 

 Australia. 



Sheep at Bathurst Experiment Farm, R. W. Peacock (Agr. Onz. N. S. Wales. 

 20 (1909), No. 11, pp. 1017-1028, figs. 3.',).— An account of the results of cross 

 breeding sheep for lamb and mutton suitable for export. 



As a rule the second crosses were the best and the first crosses next. Those 

 containing the greatest amount of English blood were the fattest, especially 

 that of the Southdown. "As wool is of such importance in Australia, and car- 

 casses the desideratum in England, it taxes the ingenuity of the breeder to 

 combine the two in a practical manner. From the past experiences at this 

 farm, the cross which appears to meet the requirements best as a dual-purpose 

 sheep and one that can be bred without seru»ns disadvantages is a Shropshire- 

 English Leicester-Merino. 



"For future experiments this cross will be used as the standard against 

 which to measure other crosses." 



The history of the mule-footed hog, W. .J. Spillman (Science, n. .srr.. 30 

 (1909), No. 780, pp. 855, 856). — An abstract of a paper read before the Bio- 

 logical Society of Washington, November 13, 1909. 



This hog differs from other breeds only in the coalescence of the ungual 

 phalanges. This character appears to be dominant but is disadvantageous es- 

 pecially in heavy hogs. Plxperiments at the Indiana Station show that the 

 breed does not possess immunity from hog cholera as has been claimed by some 

 l)reeders. 



The Lincolnshire curly-coated pig, C. S. Plumb (Nat. Stockman and Farmer. 

 33 (1909), No. 10, p. 2/f9. fig. i).— This is an account of an English breed of 

 swine which has long been known but not recognized officially until 1907. It 

 was first exhibited at the Smithfield show in 1908 where it made the highest 

 average daily gain of any breed. It is said to be hardy and of the bacon class 

 but is being promoted as a general purpose swine. The breed is described in 

 the herd book as follows : 



" The animal should be white, and coated with white curly or wavy hair (odd 

 blue spots are not infrequently found upon the skin). Head not too long, nose 

 straight and not dished, ears thick and pendent, but not falling over the eyes, 

 with a fair distance between them, jowl heavy, shoulders deep and wide at 

 heart, ribs well sprung, back straight and long, tail well set, the sides deep 

 reaching nearly to the ground, belly parts thick and the whole carcass well 

 supplied with lean flesh, hams well filled to hocks and standing on short, 

 straight legs with plenty of bone." 



The factor hypothesis in its relation to plumage color, C. B. Davenport 

 (Amer. Breeders' Assoc. [Proc], 5 (1909), pp. 382-385). — It is stated that 

 the old belief that " hybridization, in and of itself, leads to a reversion " should 

 be abandoned and its place supplied by the " factor theory " according to which 

 2 elements upon uniting produce a new character. 



" If in the ancestors these elements were united, the races having been evolved 

 by separating the elements, then crossing the races will bring together again 

 the elements and thus restore, so far as that one character goes, the ancestral 



