1918.] AKIMAL PEODUCTIOK. 575 



highest record of a ewe appears to be a better selection standard for high 

 fertility than a random record. 



" The frequency of multiple births in sheep varies with the breeil. Physiologi- 

 cal factors may exert a marked influence on heredity, the most important fac- 

 tors being the vigor of the ewe, the feeding of the ewe, the age of the ewe, the 

 season, and the region. Apparently no relation exists between high fertility and 

 additional mammae. 



" In pedigrees started from single births the birth rank of the sire does not 

 affect the birth rank of the progeny ; in pedigrees started from twin births the 

 effect of high birth rank of the sire is only slightly significant (more than three 

 times the probable error). The effect of birth rank of ewe on the birth rank of 

 progeny is the same as that of the sire except in the ca.se of pedigrees started 

 from twin births, when it is slightly greater. 



"No evidence for a .sex linkage of fecundity factors occurs in the pedigrees 

 tabulated, as shown by a comparison of the relative influence of progeny of the 

 maternal granddam and the maternal grandsire. Evidence from Shropshire 

 triplet pedigrees suggests that triplets are genetically different from twins and 

 singles, which two are probably genetically alike." 



Hereditary transmission of the " curly wool " character of caracul sheep 

 in crosses between the caracul and Rambouillet breeds, L. Adametz {Ztschr. 

 Induktive Abstnm. u Vererbungslehre, 11 {1917), No. 3, pp. 161-202; abs. in 

 Internat. Inst. Ayr. [Rome], Internat. Rev. Sci. and Pract. Agr., 8 {1911), No. 

 6, pp. 906-908). — In order to test the popular theory that the lock of caracul 

 lambs is a specific product of their native, habitat and to gain a better 

 knowledge of the inheritance of the curl, crossings between caracul and 

 Rambouillet sheep were made at the agricultural high school at Gross-Enzers- 

 dorf, Austria. The results thus far secured indicate that the caracul curl is 

 a strictly hereditary character which is transmitted even if caracul sheep 

 are crossed with other races of which the lambs have wool which does not 

 curl. With regard to this character, such crossings produce characteristic 

 Mendelian segregations. The capacity of caracul sheep to form the.se typical 

 locks is, therefore, a character which is never caused by the natural condi- 

 tions of the Bokhara district, but is rather a phenomenon of domestication 

 due to a mutation. 



In the Fi some of the animals have no curls, others have curls like those 

 of the pure-bred caracul, and there are all kinds of intermediates, indicating 

 incomplete dominance in the formation of curls. The varying behavior of the 

 hairs which form the curl at the different stages of the development of the 

 fleece leads to the supposition that there Is a close relationship between curly, 

 flat-lying hair on the one hand, and curly, vertical hair and very wavy and 

 slightly wavy hair on the other. It is clear that the shape of the lower part 

 of the follicle can not be the cause of this varying behavior of the hairs. 



A flock of sheep on the farm, R. F. Milijir {California Sta. Circ. ISi {1911), 

 pp. 7). — The decrease in sheep production and the increase in wool importa- 

 tions into the United States has caused the inauguration of a campaign for 

 the improvement of sheep husbandry. This circular discusses the details of 

 sheep raising under California conditions. 



Prices of sheep and wool from 1818 to 1915 {TranS. HigMand and Agr. 

 Soc. Scot., 5. ser., 28 {1916), pp. 211-280). — Annual prices are reported for 

 Cheviot and Blackface sheep and for four classes of wool. 



Pork production in Florida, J. M. Scott {Florida Sta. Bid. 1^1 {1911), pp. 

 S5-56, fig. 1). — A revision and combination of Bulletins 113 and 131 (E. S. R., 

 28, p. 770; 35, p. 870). 



