Breeding Animals. 79 



followed by renewed activities in the study of animal 

 improvement by more systematic methods. Artificial 

 evolution is the term tinder which many scientific and 

 practical men will merge their comjnon efforts in 

 accumulating knowledge, acquiring wealth and clevelop- 

 ing a better heritage of improved blood lines for future 

 generations. A most fruitful source of new ideas and 

 new principles is to be found in the work of the animal 

 and plant scientists of our public institutions. Some of 

 these, having turned their attention to studying the laws 

 of heredity and the relation these laws bear to scientific 

 breeding, are getting results of importance. Mendel's 

 Law, for example, of which more will be said later, 

 may mark a turning point in the study of heredity 

 and breeding by scientific or statistical methods. A new 

 periodical called "Bicmetrica" (measures of living 

 tilings) has been started recently in London, to publish 

 the findings of the group of scientists who are working 

 along this line. 



A word has been recently employed by Prof. Daven- 

 port of the University of Illinois to designate the gen- 

 eral subject of breeding living things plants as well as 

 animals. The word is "thremmatology," and techni- 

 cally means, as I remember Dean Davenport's state- 

 ment, the nursing of young things; or, as defined by 

 Webster, "the science which treats of breeding in its 

 widest sense ; artificial evolution." If this word could 

 be generally adopted to cover in a broad way the 

 science and art of plant and animal improvement it 

 might be advantageously employed. Though a long 

 term, it would prove convenient as expressing definitely 

 and in a broad way the whole idea of breeding*. 



A Plant and Animal Breeders' Association is being 

 formed and will hold its first general meeting in St. 

 Louis, December 29 and 30. This movement was 

 started in November, 1900, under the auspices of the 

 American Association of Agricultural Colleges and 

 Experiment Stations. The International Conference of 

 Plant Breeders, held in New York Citv in October, 



