ON THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION 

 FOR ZOOTECHNICAL PURPOSES IN RUSSIA. 



By E. I. IVANOFF, 



Director of the Central Experimental Breeding Station for 

 DonieMic Animals, Moscow, Russia. 



One of the greatest problems of Russia's present economic policy is the 

 restoration and development of farming, and in particular, cattle- 

 farming. The war and revolution have, together with other things, 

 destroyed enormous numbers of cattle, horses, pigs, etc., and thoroughly 

 undermined the meat industry, as well as the sources of supply of 

 working animals. A decrease of 50 % below the former numbers of 

 horses is the common state of things. The preservation of cattle-farms 

 and studs is seldom met with, and the number of stock-producing animals 

 is at least ten times less than formerly. The terrible drought threatens 

 to bring into this sphere of national wealth even greater destruction. 

 At the same time there can be no doubt that without the restoration 

 and maintenance on a definite level of stud and cattle-farming, Russia 

 cannot return to full economic activity. The present-day state of things 

 demands that every effort be made, every possibility found and utilised, 

 for increasing the number of domestic animals and for improving the 

 methods of breeding and the breeds themselves. 



Mass-breeding of domestic animals must certainly go hand-in-hand 

 with mass-improvement of the breeds. If indiscriminate raising of 

 animals was unprofitable before the war, at the present time, with 

 undreamt-of prices of fodder and labour, it is certainly a loss. 



The greatest obstacle in the way of a successful solution of the above 

 problems is the shortage of progenitors suitable for stud and cattle- 

 farms. Let us take for example horse-breeding. Before the war, the 

 number of thorough-breds in Russia was not even 1 %, and for one 

 stud-stallion, there were 600 mares. At present the difference between 

 the demand and supply of valuable stallions can be expres.sed approxi- 

 mately as 1 : 3000. But the number of mares served by one stallion in 

 the pairing season is from 10-40, seldom higher, and on an average 25-30. 



