ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 473 



is no adequate metliotl for inakiug official records of wliat au auimal really is 

 witli a view to beuetiting future breeders who wisli to Iviictw tlie facts loug 

 after llie animal is dead. Tlie ancestral j)edigree should contain a complete 

 record of characteristics. 



The evolution of British cattle and the fashioning' of breeds, J. Wilson 

 {London, t!)0!), pi). 1 ///+/'/?. //V/s. 23). — This book treats of the different types 

 of cattle found in (Jreat Britain and Ireland in historic and i)rehistoric times 

 with special reference to the origin of existing breeds. I'se is made of Mendel's 

 law in explaining the results brought about by blending the types brought from 

 time to time by foreign invasions. 



Studies on the history of breeds of swine, especially those of Sweden, 

 A. PiKA (Zool. Jahrb., J!>(H), N»;>. 10. .Vo. 2. l)l>. .W-i-'/JO'. pgs. ,JJ).— This is chiefly 

 a study of the subfossil bones of swine found in Sweden. 



Descriptions and measurements of skeleton fragments found in the various 

 deposits are given in detail and a classification of the different types is 

 made. Tlie systematic positicm of the peat hog .S».s' ixilusfris. which the author 

 thinks is a domesticated form of S. scrofa, is described at length. Besides 8. 

 /«f/i/.s/r(.s- and the wild species ,S. Hcrofa frnift antiquns. the author makes r» other 

 tyi)es. wholly or partially domesticated, which are modifications of one or both 

 of the above-named species. According to the chronology of Montelius. the pig 

 first appeared in Sweden as a domesticated animal in the neolithic period about 

 odO B. C The bones of tame swine which are found with those of the wild 

 species in the older deposits are larger than those in the more recent, which 

 leads the author to believe that tame swine of the stone age were not of Asiatic 

 origin but are* domesticated forms of indigenous swine. Feral swine became 

 diminished in size by inbreeding, as is the case with all animals under condi- 

 tions of i)riniitive domestication, and finally resulted in the peat hog. 



A bibliography of the subject is appended. 



The character of the blood in horses of different breeds, W. L. Yakimoff 

 and XiNA Kohl (Montttsh. Pnikt. Ti< rlicilh:. tt ( t'.tl)'.)). So. 3-.',, pp. 1J6-L',6).—^ 

 The blood of English thoroughbred and halfbred saddle and trotting stallions 

 contained a larger number of red corpuscles than the blood of heavy work 

 horses. There was but little difference in the number of leucocytes. The blood 

 of I'^nglish breeds was more alkaline than that of others, but there was no appre- 

 ciable difference in the specific gravity of the blood in the different breeds. 



Feeding' stuffs in the Dutch Indies, .1. Dekkeb {Medal. I)cp1. Lnndh. [Dutch 

 i:<ist /«</(V'.s|, l'.)0!l. \o. S. pp. IIK'i). — This monograph contains analyses of 

 native and introduced grasses, forage plants, and other feeding stuffs in the 

 Dutch East Indies. There is also a discussion of their feeding value, especially 

 for horses, and numerous references to the literature on the subject. 



Studies on the gain in nitrogen in well-fed grown animals, K. Friske 

 {Landiv. Vers. Stat., 71 {1909), Xo. 6. pp. //.Ji-.'/82 ) .— In this investigation 8 

 grown wethers were fed for 6 months on hay. Animals Nos. 1 and 2 were then 

 slaughtered and their carcasses weighed and analyzed, Xos. 3 and 4 fed for 111 

 days on a narrow ration 1 : 2.88 consisting of hay, field beans, and sunflower 

 cake, Nos. 5 and fed for 104 days on a normal ration 1 : 5.02 consisting of hay, 

 field beans, and ground barley, and Nos. 7 and 8 held as a reserve and fed a 

 wide ration. At the end of the feeding period the remaining sheep were slaugh- 

 tered. 



A considerable gain in nitrogen and in lean meat was found although the 

 actual gain in nitrogen, as shown by the analyses of the dressed carcasses, was 

 much less than was shown by the digestion coefficient. According to the nitrogen 

 balance the average daily available nitrogen per liead for sheep Nos. o and 4 



31125— No. 5—10 6 



