368 EXPERIMENT STATION RECOED. 



strain through the admixture of some flne-wool-bearing Afghans, and it was 

 fully determined that the fine wool in most of the sheep was entirely responsible 

 for their inferior fur-producing qualities. The results of tests in interbreeding 

 these 2 types indicated that " a very small amount of fine wool can be over- 

 come, and considerable fine wool in ewes can be neutralized, where the i*am is 

 entirely free from the short fine underwool. Two crosses suffice to breed it out 

 entirely." 



Where Merinos and Shropshires were crossed with a pure-bred caracul ram 

 " a very inferior skin was produced in which there was great lack of luster and 

 a very important curl formation, giving the skin a matty appearance, valueless 

 from a fur standpoint, but excellent results were obtained when the same ram 

 was bred to such of our lustrous longwools as Lincolns, and such red Persian 

 fatrumps as were entirely free from short wool and possessed very coarse 

 wool." Where a pure-bred caracul ram was " bred to long-wool ewes, free from 

 fine wool, and the skins of the lambs were obtained the first few days after 

 birth, they showed tight curls uniform in size and possessing the required 

 luster. Such half-blood skins were valued ... at from $8 to $12 per skin. In 

 all cases where the prices ranged from $3 to $4 the skins showed lack of luster 

 and curl formation, which was easily traced to fine wool, either in the caracul 

 rams or grade native longwools." 



It is stated that in Central Asia there are " 6 classes of caracul sheep, all of 

 which owe their black pigment tendency to tight curl formation, and luster 

 to the small black and nearly extinct Dan^dar sheeep. These breeds are known 

 as (1) Large Arabi or Duzbai, (2) Small Arabi, (3) Intermediate Arabi, 

 resulting from the crossing of the above-mentioned two classes, (4) Gray Shirad, 

 (5) Zigais (of these classes there are very few), and (6) caracul Afghans, 

 which last class unfortunately comprise 90 per cent of all the fur-producing 

 sheep in Bokhara, and while possessing excellent mutton qualities and wonder- 

 ful hardiness, like all of the other breeds, can hardly produce profitable fur In 

 America, where people demand the best quality of the Persian furs." 



The author comments on the difficulties of procuring breeding stock from 

 Bokhara. 



Alaska's reindeer industry, L. Chubbuck (Jour. Heredity, 5 (1914), No. 4, 

 pp. I49-I54, figs. 3). — The author comments on the Government's importations 

 of reindeer to Alaska and the opportunities for the extension of the industry. 

 It is suggested that it might be possible to cross the native caribou and the 

 domesticated reindeer, thus preserving the size and vigor of the stock. 



The preservation of the Arab horse, C. W. Edwards (PJiiUppine A{/r. Rev. 

 [English Ed.], 7 (1914), Xo. 1, pp. ^7, 48)- — An effort is being made to preserve 

 the pure-bred Arab horse. There is being formed in Cairo an international 

 horse society, the object being the starting of a stud book, the arranging for 

 annual shows and auction sales, and the encouragement of the breeding of 

 Arabian horses. It is stated that at the present time the pure-bred Arab is 

 found only among the different Bedouin tribes of the Arabian and Syrian 

 deserts in Mesopotamia and in the Xedj, in a few private studs in Egypt, and 

 in a voi-y few of the European and American studs. 



A study of sex-linked inheritance in poultry (Missouri Sta. Bui. 117 (1914), 

 pp. 430, 431). — "In the sprijig of 1913 matings were made as follows: (1) 

 Barred Plymouth Rock male and Black Minorca female; (2) Barred Plymouth 

 Pock female and Black Minorca male; (3) White Leghorn male and White- 

 crested Black Polish female; (4) White Leghorn female and Whitecrested 

 Black Polish male; (5) Silver Spangled Hamburg male and Brown Leghorn 

 female; (6) Silver Spangled Hamburg female and Brown Leghorn male; 

 (7) Seabright Bantam male and Black Bantam female; and (8) Seabrlght 



