322 



The Journal of Heredity 



breed very little, and many changes 

 have occurred since that time. Brody 

 accepts Alton 's \'icw of the later develop- 

 ment of the breed. 



"Alton reports that the cattle of 

 Ayrshire formerly were mostly black, 

 mth a white stripe along the back, 

 white in the flank or face and had horns 

 that were turned u])wards and in- 

 wards." 



"The present day breed was de- 

 veloped by introducing other blood, 

 better care and selection. He states 

 that about 1740 to 1800 a large number 

 of Dutch as well as Shorthorn cattle 

 were introduced and crossed with the 

 native cattle. Which of the two were 

 used more freely, is not certain, but as 

 the Shorthorn was even then famous on 

 the Island and also easier to obtain, 

 this fact leads to the assumption that 

 perhaps more Shorthorns than Dutch 

 cattle were used. The striking feature 



about it is that as a result of such 

 unsystematic introduction and crossing, 

 such a remarkably uniform breed was 

 obtained which for many decades has 

 maintained its individuality. Two 

 things may have aided in this — (1) the 

 introduction of foreign blood may have 

 been confined to a relatively short 

 period and (2) as the work of develop- 

 ment was probably begun in the large 

 herds the smaller breeders soon fell 

 into line and followed their example. 

 Then, too, information about the merits 

 of any animal or system of breeding 

 would be quickly disseminated in such 

 a small section as that in which the 

 breed was developed." 



Whatever ma\'' have been the origin 

 of the black in Ayrshires, it is certain 

 that this color is as old as the breed 

 itself and black and white Ayrshires 

 are just as ])urc as those that show 

 other colors. 



ANNUAL MEETING OF THE 

 ASSOCIATION 



THE American Genetic Associa- 

 tion will hold its annual meeting 

 at Berkeley, California, August 

 2-6, inclusive. The sessions 

 now scheduled are as follows: 



Monday afternoon, August 2, joint session 

 of the American Genetic Association with 

 section for Animal Husbandry, American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science. 



Tuesday morning, August 3, opening session 

 A. G. A. 



Tuesday afternoon, August 3, second session 

 A. G. A. 



Wednesday, August 4, joint sessions with 

 A. A. A. S. at Stanford University: "The 

 Role of Variation and Heredity in Evolution." 



Thursday morning, August 5, meeting of 

 plant-breeding section, A. G. A. 



Friday morning, August 6, joint meeting 

 with section for Horticulture, A. A. A. S. 



Friday afternoon, August 6, closing session 

 of A. G. A. 



This ])rogram is subject to change. 

 The complete outline of the meetings 

 will be published about July 15, and 

 a copy will be sent to any member who 

 requests it. Address the seeR'tar\- at 

 Washington, or Professor K. B. Bab- 



cock, University of California, Berkeley, 

 California. 



All meetings of the association \\411 

 be open to the ])ublic. There will be 

 an opportunity for discussion of each 

 I)apcr. 



Following is an incomplete list of the 

 papers to be presented, embracing 

 probably two-thirds of the whole. The 

 titles of these papers are subject to 

 change. 



E. D. Ball and Byron Adler of the 

 Utah ExjKTiment Station, "Is Egg- 

 laying in the White Leghorn a Unit 

 Character r". Results of tests extend- 

 ing over niunber of years and designed 

 to show in what way the ca])acit\- of 

 high egglaying is inherited will be 

 ])resented. 



E. E. Barker, Cornell University, 

 "Color Studies in the Morning Glory." 



S. Boshnakian, Cornell University, 

 "A Better Method for Rejiresenting 

 Mendelian Segregation," and "A Coef- 

 ficient of S(|uarehead Form Necessary 

 for the Statistical Studv of Density in 

 Wheat." 



