472 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol.41 



The cattle of eastern France, E. N. Wentwobth (Breeder's Gas., 76 (1919), 

 No. 8, p. 311). — This is a note on the triple-purpose cattle of the eastern De- 

 partments of France. There are four breeds of economic importance in this 

 section, the Friburg, the Simmental, the Brown Swiss, and the Jurassic. 

 The first named is the most popular, and the better cows are said to give over 

 40 lbs. of milk daily. The last is a native breed, taking its name from the 

 Department of Jura. A movement for its rehabilitation has been inaugurated. 

 It is claimed to be very resistant to tuberculosis, has a strong constitution, and 

 is apparently capable of higher milk yields than the Friburg. 



Present state of sheep breeding in Canada, J. It. Arkell (Intemat. Inst. 

 Agr. [Rome'\, Internat. Rev. Sci. and Pract Agr., 8 (1917), No. 10, pp. 1333- 

 1338).— The progress of the sheep industry in Canada since the founding of 

 cooperative associations of wool producers under government supervision in 

 1912 is briefly outlined. 



The decennial census reports from 1871 to 1911 and annual reports from 

 1912 to 1916 as to the number of sheep in the several Provinces are tabulated. 



Genetic studies in poultry. — I, Inheritance of leg-feathering, R. C. Punnett 

 and P. G. Bailey (Jour. Genetics, 7 (1918), No. 3, pp. ^03-2i3 ) .—Experimental 

 crosses are reported between feather-legged (Langshan) and clean-legged 

 (Brown Leghorn and Golden Pencilled Hamburg) fowls. The F,s in general 

 were moderately feathered, but there was considerable variation and one 

 of the hens of the Hamburg cross was clean legged, although she produced 

 feather-legged offspring by a clean-legged cock. The Leghorn F2S consisted 

 of 323 feathered and 106 clean-legged chicks, and the Hamburg F2S of 117 

 and 31, respectively. These are considered good approximations to 3:1 ratios. 



Individual FjS that seemed to be homozygous for feathering were identified. 

 Some FjS were more heavily feathered than typical Langshaus. Moderately- 

 feathered birds mated to clean-legged ones frequently produced strongly- 

 feathered offspring; In such matings more males than females were heavily 

 feathered. Modifying factors are postulated to explain these facts. 



On the basis of Davenport's data (E. S. R., 23, p. 75), it is suggested that 

 two factors are responsible for the leg-feathering in Cochin and Dark Brahma 

 bantams. 



On the sterility of hybrids between the pheasant and the Gold Campine 

 fowl, D. W. CuTLEB (Jour. Genetics, 7 (1918), No. 3, pp. 155-165, pi. i).— The 

 author has examined histologically the testes of about a dozen male hybrids 

 resulting from crosses between male pheasants (no species designated) and 

 domestic hens of the Golden Campine breed, and has also studied spermato- 

 genesis in pheasants and in Golden Campine cocks. The breeder who made the 

 crosses secured no female hybrids with one doubtful exception. The hybrids, 

 it is stated, were all sterile. 



Technical difliculties made chromosome counts uncertain. The hybrids 

 showed 19 to 21 in the spermatogonia, the pheasants 20 to 22, and the domes- 

 tic fowl 18 to 20. The following quotation, from which references to figures 

 have been omitted, summarizes the other conditions found in the hybrids : 



"The early development of the primary spermatocytes is normal; a granu- 

 lar spireme is formed which retracts to one side of the nucleus, producing a 

 closely packed mass of threads. . . . The synaptic threads, instead of 

 breaking Into bivalent chromosomes, form a varying number of irregularly 

 shaped clumps of chromatin. There is no uniformity as regards the number 

 produced, and a series can easily be formed in which the number varies from 

 two to three large masses up to the condition where the chromosomes are 

 almost all bivalent, or where many have separated as univalents. This failure 

 of the synaptic threads to form bivalent chromosomes is evidently the cause 



