370 EXPERIMENT STATION RECOED. 



the subject of an experiment is also desoribed and tests of the accuracy of the 

 apparatus are reported. For the details of this report the original paper should 

 be consulted. An appendix of cited literature is included. 



For an earlier description see a previous note (E. R. R.. 25, p. 570). 



A respiratory chamber for small animals, A. C. Kolls and A. S. Loeven- 

 HAET {Amer. Jour. Physiol, S9 {1915), No. 1, pp. 67-76. figs. 8).— Detailed 

 descriptions are given of three respiratory chambers which are suitable for a 

 study of the caseous metabolism of small animals (dogs, rabbits, cats, rats, 

 mice, etc.) It Is possible to keep animals in these chambers for a week or 

 more in a given atmosphere of oxygen and nitrogen, but they are not designed 

 to measure energy exchange. For the details of construction, the original 

 should be consulted. 



ANIMAL PRODTJCTION. 



New literature, compiletl by M. Daiber et al. (ZtscTir. Tnduktive Abstam. 

 u. Vercrhunrfslehre, 1/f {1015), Xo. 2, pp. {l)-{S-'f)). — A bibliography of litera- 

 ture published during 1913, 1914, and 1915 on breeding, inheritance, and related 

 subjects. 



Some studies of environmental influence, heredity, correlation, and growth 

 in the white mouse, F. B. Sumner {Jour. Expt. ZooL, 18 {1915), No. S, pp. 

 S25-4S2, figs. 17). — In these studies about 2,300 animals were measured. 



Certain differences were noted between the mean measurements of lots which 

 were reared in a cold room and those reared in a warm room. As regards the 

 tail and foot these differences were considerable In amount and of almost cer- 

 tain statistical significance. After the initial retardation of the cold-room 

 animals in re.spect to tail length the tails grew faster, both relatively and abso- 

 lutely, than those of the warm-room animals. In both lots the shorter tails 

 grew, on the average, faster than the longer ones. There was a tendency 

 toward compensation in growth, such as has been observed for the weight of 

 guinea pigs. 



References to the literature are appended. 



Variability and amphimixis. L. B. Walton {Amcr. Nat., Ji9 {191,5), No. 

 5S7, pp. 6.'f9-GS7, figs. 6). — This Is a report of a comparative study of the 

 variability in zygospores of Spirogum ivflata formed by lateral (close breed- 

 ing) and by scalariform (cross-breeding) conjugation, and its bearing on the 

 theory of amphimixis and the problem of evolution. A bibliography is ap- 

 pended. 



Effect of the popular sire, W. Hatnes {Jour. Ucredify, 6 {1915), No. 11, pp. 

 494-496, fig. 1). — In a statistical study of three varieties of terriers It was 

 found that over 40 per cent of the puppies were sired by approximately 20 per 

 cent of the stud dogs. It is thought that prepotency is especially strong in 

 certain fanilllos and that this undoubtedly Influences selection, but only in- 

 directly. The reputation of the Individual dog, both as a show winner and a 

 sire of winners, is almost always the determining factor in a breeder's selec- 

 tion, but It Is thought that It can hardly be a coincidence that In these three 

 breeds popularity and prepotency should have been combined. The fact that 

 artificial selection gives to certain selected, but not uniform, males an undue 

 preponderance of Influence, must always keep the type of domestic animals 

 In an unstable state. This is thought to be an important factor in the great 

 variability always noted among domesticated breeds. 



Rabbit crossing, II, V. Haecker and Olga Kuttner {Ztschr. Induktive 

 Abstam. «. Vererbungslehre, 14 {1915), No. 2, pp. 49-70. pis. S, fig. /).— An 

 account of crossbreeding experiments with rabbits In a study of color inherit- 

 ance. 



