268 



The Journal of Heredity 



"In every subsequent matin j^ that 

 takes place a breeder should ahva>'s 

 strive to hold every good point j^os- 

 sesscd by his bitch, and to add to them 

 something extra from the stud dog. 

 The dangerous pitfall that trips hun- 

 dreds of thoughtful breeders is the 

 attempt to balance points, good and 

 bad, against each other. A bitch 

 excelling in eyes, skull and ears but 

 lamentably bad in foreface will be 

 bred to a dog with capital foreface, but 

 shocking in eyes, ears and skull. Or a 

 bitch with speed and hunting sense, but 

 lacking in bottom, will be mated to a 

 solid dog with substance to spare, but 

 little else to recommend him. As an 

 exam]3le of glorious optimism such 

 matings are splendid, but as breeding 

 operations they are pathetic. The re- 

 sult is more than apt to be a spoiling 

 of whatever good points were possessed 

 by both parents, for these points were 

 probably above the average of the 

 race, and the principle of regression 

 would tend to pull the avearge of the 

 puppies back closer to the breed mean. 

 Always hold then whatever good points 

 we have, endeavoring in each successive 



mating to add to these other good 

 points." 



"Working on this basis, there are two 

 things useful in narrowing the selection 

 of the indi\'idual dogs in any jjarticular 

 mating. Always judge a dog as a 

 breeding unit not by its own points, 

 but on its ancestry and progeny." 



"The elimination of all guess-work 

 and the willingness to accept consider- 

 able length of time before success comes 

 should be the first resolution made by a 

 breeder. This means study, first, of 

 the principles of genetics; next, of the 

 breed with which one is dealing; and 

 lastly, of the individuals employed in 

 every mating. Working upon a founda- 

 tion of excellence in the weak points 

 of his breed and always retaining good 

 points gained and adding others to 

 these, the breeder, provided he judges 

 his breeding stock by their puppies 

 rather than by their own points, is 

 sure to establish a strain upon which he 

 can count for results. This, however, 

 can not be done in a season. The 

 breeder must possess those qualities we 

 all admire in our dogs, patience, game- 

 ness and faithfulness." 



Fruit Breeding in Alaska 



There are two species of strawberry wnld in Alaska, one in the coast region and 

 one in the interior. Pollen from both of these has been used in hybridizing culti- 

 vated varieties of the strawberry, in order to induce hardiness. The crosses with 

 the native plant of the coast region have been a conspicuous success. Nearly 

 4,000 of the hybrids thus produced ha\'c fruited and some hundreds of them are 

 good enough to be retained for further testing. 



The crosses with the native plant of the interior have been but few, and so far 

 without noted improvement on the cultivated parent, except in matter of hardiness. 



We have crossed the cultivated rasj^berry with pollen from the native salmon 

 berry and produced many seedlings. The hybrids, however, are nearly all sterile; 

 nothing of value has been produced, but we propose to continue crossing witii other 

 native species of the genus. 



Attempts are now being made to cross native species of Ribes on cultivated 

 varieties of Ribes rumbrum and /\. uigriiui. Some work is also being done willi 

 gooseberries. 



Wc have for several years attempted to cross the native crabapple on cultivated 

 varieties of the apple, but for various reasons little seed has been i:)roduccd. The 

 work is continued, however. It is almost certain that if apples are ever to be 

 grown successfully in Alaska, the trees must contain the blood of this native 

 craba]j]jle. Im]K)rted cultivated varieties, even the hardiest and earliest oi ihem, 

 can Vjc grown only with ])artial success. 



C. C. Georgeson. 

 Special Agent in Charge of Alaska Investigations, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



