1170 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



tlu'so are the boarors of tlio licnMlitary qnalities of the cytoplasm as cliroiuo- 

 souies are the bearers of the hereditary qnalilies of the nucleus. 



The inheritance of hyperdactylism in poultry, D. Harfurtii (Arch. Ent- 

 u-ichL Merit. Organ., 21! (IDOS), \o. //, pp. (JSl-GJ/D). — Seven hyperdactyl Orp- 

 ington hens were mated to a normal male of the same breed. Of 1.j2 chickens 

 whicli resulted SO, or .12.0 per cent, had the normal number of toes. Instances 

 of hyperdactylism noted by other observers are cited. 



Spurious allelomorphism [in poultry], W. J. Spili.man (Ainrr. Nat., .'i2 

 (IDOS), A'o. 501, pp. ClO-G ].',). — Black Langshan males were mated with Barred 

 Plymouth Kock females. In the i)roj;eny, all the females were l)lack and all the 

 males barred. The author also calls attention to several cases reported by other 

 observers. 



Yearbook of scientific and practical animal breeding, II. Muller {JahrJ). 

 ir/.s«. u. Pralt. Ticrzucht, 3 (IDOS), pp. LLIV +227). —The larger part of this 

 report is occupied with critical reviews of literature relating to the anatomy, 

 physiology, psychology, biology, geographical distribution, hygiene, feeding, 

 breeding, and the history of domesticated l)reeds. There are original articles 

 on the acclimatization of domesticated animals, a mutation in the Fjell breed 

 of cattle, the " polled " character of cattle, and the influences that affect the 

 length of the pregnant period of domesticated animals. From data collected 

 on the last-named subject, P. Sabatini concludes that in horses, cattle, and sheeji 

 the length of pregnancy is shorter with twins, with the first born, with a female 

 fetu.s, and in the early maturing breeds than with single birtlis, males, the 

 second or later births, or in the late-maturing breeds. These results do not ap- 

 pear to hold true in the case of swine. 



The principles of animal nutrition, II. P. Akmsby (New York, 1908, 3. ed. 

 rev., pp. YII+(jl.'i). — This is the third revised edition of this work (E. S. R., 

 14, p. 896). 



The rate of growth of the egg yolk in the chick, and the significance of 

 white and yellow yolk in the ova of vertebrates, O. Kiudie (t^eimcc, n, scr., 

 21 (I 'JOS), No. 703, p. i>'i'>)- — The author has employed a method discovered by 

 Daddi in 1890, by which the rate of growth of the egg yolk of the chick may be 

 easily measured. " If the fat stain Sudan III be fed to laying hens at intervals 

 of one, two, or more days, the stain can be found later in the form of concentric 

 red rings in all of the rapidly growing ova. The actual rate of growth varies 

 widely from to 2 mm., but one day of growth normally includes a layer of 

 white yolk and a layer of yellow yolk. It is probable that the layer of white 

 yolk represents the part wliicli is grown during the later hours of the night, 

 and that the yellow yolk is yolk of more rapid growth produced during the re- 

 mainder of the day." 



Sudan III deposited on the egg and transmitted to the chick, S. II. and 

 Susanna P. Gage (Science, n. scr., 28 (1908), No. 719, pp. 1,9.',, 1,95).— The 

 authors repeated the experiments of Riddle (noted above) and summarize the 

 work on the subject as follows: 



" The specific fat stain, Sudan III, colors the fat laid down in the living hen 

 and in the fatty portions of the yolk while the feeding experiments are in 

 progress, and thus serves to give exact data concerning the time and amount of 

 deposit. 



" The eggs so colored hatch, and the chick utilizing the yolk as food produces 

 fat in its own body colored as in the adult, showing in the most striking manner 

 the transmission of a specific and unusual or foreign substance from the mother 

 to the egg, and from the egg to the offspring, and thereby marking the trans- 

 mission of the actual substance of the egg, and indirectly of the mother, to the 

 offspring. 



