778 EXPERIMENT STATION EECOED. 



A biochemical conception of dominance, A. R. Moore {Univ. Cal. Pults., 

 PJiys.. -'/ i JUJO), \o. J. pp. 9-l.j, fig.^. 6). — The autbor applies tlie laws of enzym 

 reaction to the enzyms contained in the germ cell and tissues, and thus explains 

 on chemical grounds the presence and absence hypothesis of the Mendelists. 

 Illustrations are cited to show that two sets of reactions can not go on side by 

 side, but may block each other, possibly by the inactivation of essential enzyms. 

 If reactions underlying dominance are allowed to reach equilibrium, dominance 

 is perfect, but if other reactions develop the [products of which act antagonistic- 

 ally upon the reaction in question the dominance is incomplete and an intermedi- 

 ate type is produced. In the hybrid there will be only one-half the dominant 

 parental amount of the material to be changed and the reaction products will at 

 the end be one-half of the amount finally formed in the pure dominant, hence, 

 we have a clear case of an intermediate hybrid. 



" To sum up in a practical way the above conclusions regarding the biochem- 

 ical nature of heredity, we may say that the inadequacy of the methods of in- 

 vestigation which have been used heretofore lies in attempting to measure only 

 the end-products of the reactions and neglecting entirely the question of reaction 

 velocity." 



Spiegler's " white melanin " as related to dominant or recessive white, 

 R. A. GoRTXEE (Amrr. A'ai., 4', {1910), Xo. ■')?-'h PP- -'/»7-.;02) .— The author ob- 

 tained from white rabbits, from albino silky fowls, and white Leghorn fowls a 

 product similar to the " white melanin " which Spiegler obtained from sheep's 

 wool and white horse hair, but states that it is a result of the action of alkalis 

 upon keratio. 



" It seems highly probable that Spiegler's ' white melanin ' bears no relation 

 to true melauins. but is a decomposition in-oduct of the keratin. A theory is 

 advanced that dominant whites are due to the presence of an antioxydase which 

 prevents pigment formation ; recessive whites, on the other hand, have neither 

 power to form jjigments nor to inhibit the formation." 



On the inheritance of the barred color pattern in poultry, R. Pearl and 

 F. M. Surface {Anh. Entickld. Mech. Organ., 30 {1910), pi. 1, pp. J,5-61, pis. 2, 

 fig. 1). — The data reported have been noted from another source (E. S. R., 23. 

 p. 074). 



The germinal disc in naturally incubated eggs of Passer domesticus, C. J. 

 Patten {Rpl. Brit. A.s-soc. Adr. ScL, 1909, pft. .j06, .507). — Observations were 

 made of a clutch of naturally incubated eggs of the house sparrow. 



The early stages were slower in de\elopment than in the case of the common 

 fowl. " This may in part be associated with the longer time that the fowl takes 

 to completely incubate its eggs, but it is noteworthy that the discrepancy in the 

 time of the appearance of the corresponding stages of development in the case 

 of the sparrow's eggs may be further bridged over if one assumes that the nat- 

 urally well-constructed heat-retaining nest allowed development to proceed 

 during the laying of the clutch, that is to say prior to the period when the 

 mother bird took on the task of incubating." 



It is stated that the method of studying avian embryology by means of artifi- 

 cial incubation is not always so reliable as studies under natural conditions. 



DAIRY FARMING— DAIEYING. 



Standards for evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and condensed 

 skim milk. — Federal and state dairy laws, O. F. Hunziker {Indiana Sta. Bui. 

 I.'i3, pp. .'119-501, figs. 2). — The purpose of this bulletin was to furnish informa- 

 tion and facts concerning the possibilities " of the condensed-milk industry in 

 its various phases, and to facilitate the drafting of just, adequate, and enforce- 



