542 EXl'EKIMENT STATION RECORD. 



therefore iti l)recding cxporimeuts cureful isolation of tiic plats is ncc- 

 essaiT. Crosses with Mexican varieties of corn arc found very unpro- 

 ductive, or even sterile, while crosses between sug-ar corn and Held corn 

 sometimes show a l)lendiMi>- of starchy and sug-ary parts in the same 

 kernel. The starchy tendency, however, is the dominant character 

 and prevails in three-fourths of the ofl'spring. The dark color in corn 

 has a tendency to show at the base of the kernel. In a test with red 

 ears it was found that certain ones produced KJO per cent of red corn 

 in the third generation. 



D. G. Fairchild discussed the subject of Plant and Animal Introduc- 

 tion, calling attention to the work which the Department of Agricul- 

 ture has been doing in agricultural explorations throughout the world. 

 The possibility of breeding plants resistant to disease was discussed by 

 W, A. Orton, who referred to the results already obtained in breeding 

 watermelons resistant to wilt, potatoes resistant to Phytophthora, cow- 

 peas and cotton resistant to wilt. 



F. B. Mumf ord presented a paper on The Influence of the Size of the 

 Parent on Birth Weight. During the speaker's experiments it was 

 found that the sire has but little influence on the birth weight of the 

 progeny. The influence of the male as to size and other characteris- 

 tics of the ofi'spring appears not to be manifested conspicuousl}' until 

 after the birth of the young. Evidence was obtained that certain 

 characteristics of the parents never appear until late in the life of the 

 offspring. 



C. F. Curtiss spoke of some Ijreeding experiments with domestic 

 animals. An attempt is being made to produce a race of sheep espe- 

 cially adapted to western ranches, and Shorthorn cattle are being 

 crossed to produce blue-gray hybrids. A number of other papers 

 were presented, especiall}' on Distributing Valuable New Varieties 

 and Breeds, by W. M. Hays; Experiments in Corn Breeding, by C. G. 

 Hopkins; Breeding from Tame v. Wild Species, by H. W. Groff; 

 Theoretical Studies in Breeding, W. J. Spillman; Relation of Life 

 History Studies to Breeding, by W. T. Swingle; Grape Breeding, by 

 S. ^. Beach; Breeding Hardv Fruits in the Northwest, by N. E. 

 Hansen; Bean Breeding, by R. A. Emerson; An Application of the 

 Theory of Evolution to Breeding, b}^ O. F. (^ook; and Studies in 

 Inheritance in Mice, by C. B. Davenport. 



Secretary Wilson was elected president of this association, and W. 

 M. Ha3^s secretary, with H. J. Webber as chairman of the plant 

 section and J. Dryden as chairman of the animal section. 



SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE. 



This societ}^ held a number of sessions, alone and in conjunction 

 with the Societv for Horticultural Science and the Association of 

 Economic Entomologists. L. H. Pammel presented an account of 



