122 AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND THE FARMER : 



Blackface sheep showed that a completely black face was almost 

 invariably associated with pigmented fibres in the coat, and 

 that a " brokit " face (that is, a face in which the black is in 

 patches) is commonly associated with a completely unpigmented 

 coat. It is possible, therefore, that by the production of a face 

 as nearly white as possible, pigment could be eliminated from 

 the coat. In order to test this, experiments are being carried 

 out with fancy tame rats, in which the problem is very similar. 

 A completely black-headed rat invariably has black patches of 

 hair in its coat. By breeding, the black in the head has been 

 broken up, and at the same time the body cleared from coloured 

 hairs. Breeding is being continued to see whether the production 

 of a completely white rat free from pigment is possible. If so, 

 it is reasonable to suppose that breeding on similar lines amongst 

 Blackface sheep would result in the production of a practically 

 white-faced Blackface and eliminate the undesirable pigmented 

 hairs in the fleece. 



Information is also being collected at Edinburgh on the 

 subject of the assumption, by fowls, of secondary sexual characters, 

 owing^ to disturbance of the internal reproductive organs. These 

 abnormalities usually take the form, in the hen, of the develop- 

 ment of " cock " characters — an erect comb, spurs, &c. The 

 question may prove to be of some importance in its relation to 

 the general tendency to speed up the egg-laying powers of the 

 hen. Some twenty " abnormal " birds have been under investi- 

 gation during the past year, and the Department would be glad 

 to get into touch with poultry breeders and others who are 

 interested in the subject, particularly those who have abnormal 

 birds in their flocks. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



DAIRYING. 



The Research Institute in Dairying was established at 

 University College, Reading, in 1912, but up to the present the 

 work has suffered considerably from the fact that the Institute 

 had no dairy farm attached, and no dairy under its control. 

 This difficulty has recently been met by the purchase of Shinfield 

 Manor near Reading, and its adjoining farms of 340 acres. 

 Possession of the farms was obtained in October 1920, and it is 

 hoped that possession of the Manor House — which will serve as 

 the research laboratory — will be secured in the near future. 



The functions of a Dairy Research Institute are wide. Within 

 its province are included all questions relating to the production. 



