540 
only in the northern part. Of the lead- 
ing varieties originating in the South, 
the Missionary and the Thompson 
were found as seedlings and brought 
into cultivation. They form 8% of 
the total, while the Klondike and Excel- 
sior which are the result of definite 
breedingwork constitute 81% of the 
total. Further, certain of these varie- 
ties are grown extensively elsewhere. 
Thus the Klondike is a leading variety 
in California, Illinois, Maryland, and 
Delaware. 
The strawberry stands forth as one 
of the conspicuous examples of suc- 
cessful breeding and it is doubtful if any 
other fruit in the United States can show 
as remarkable a record.* The modern 
industry is, in fact, almost wholly the 
creation of modern scientific breeding. 
But the work is not finished. There is 
still room for improvement and op- 
portunity for the production of better 
varieties. The breeders of the South 
say, as the result of their experience, 
that the ideal strawberry of the future 
should possess the following qualities: 
1. The plant should be as disease-resistant 
as the Aroma. 
2. It should make runners as freely as the 
Klondike or Aroma. 
3. It should be at least as productive as the 
most productive variety in each section. 
4. It should have a perfect flower. 
5. The blossoms should be as well protected 
from frost as the Missionary. 
The Journal of Heredity 
6. The berries should be as uniform in size 
throughout the season as are the Aroma and 
Chesapeake in sections to which they are 
adapted. 
7. The berry should be as uniform in shape as 
the Chesapeake in sections to which it is best 
adapted. 
8. The berry should be as firm as the Klon- 
dike is in the South. 
a Pi The berry should be as solid as the Klon- 
ike. 
10. The berry should be at least as large as 
the Klondike. 
11. The berry should have as red a flesh as 
the Klondike. 
12. The fruit should be as easy to pick as the 
Klondike, 
There are other characteristics that 
are desirable in varieties adapted to 
special purposes. Growers in central 
Florida must have a variety that ripens 
very early and continues to ripen 
through a long season as does the Mis- 
sionary. Canners do not like a berry 
having a cap as hard to remove as that 
of the Klondike. They do, however, 
desire varieties with its deep red color, 
and strong acid flavor. They also 
like a berry that retains its shape after 
cooking. Growers in some _ sections 
wish an early variety, the crop of which 
will ripen quickly, and be out of the way 
in order that they may turn to other 
farm work needing attention. Others 
wish two quick-ripening varieties, one 
following the other in season. 
‘Studies of Inheritance in Guinea-Pigs and Rats 
STUDIES OF INHERITANCE IN 
GUINEA-PIGS AND RATS, by W. E. Castle 
and Sewall Wright. Pp. 192, 7 plates, price 
$2.50. Washington, D. C., Carnegie Institu- 
tion, 1916. 
Part I of this highly technical volume 
is an account by Dr. Castle of a trip to 
the home of the guinea-pig in Peru. 
He concludes that probably all of the 
differences in coat-color which fanciers 
now recognize appeared in South Amer- 
ica, where guinea-pigs have been bred 
for centuries as a source of meat, and 
observes that “‘the guinea-pig has under- 
gone in domestication more extensive 
variation in color and coat characters 
than has any other mammal.”’ He 
brought back three new races, and 
describes hybridization experiments with 
them. In Part III, Dr. Castle con- 
tinues his studies on selection in piebald 
rats, adding to the evidence for a modi- 
fication of the unit hooded character,and 
describes a case of gametic coupling 
in yellow rats. In Part II, Dr. Wright 
makes ‘‘an intensive study of the 
inheritance of color and of other coat 
characters in guinea-pigs with especial 
reference to graded variations,’’ in the 
course of which he develops a sug- 
gestive hypothesis to explain the physi- 
ological basis of the inheritance of coat 
color. 
’Compare ‘‘The Strawberry, a Triumph of Plant Breeding,” in the JouRNAL OF HEREDITY 
VII, p. 191, April, 1916. 
