April 11, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



541 



for its material support — and very gener- 

 ally has led animal breeders to under-rate 

 the real value of Mendelian investigations. 



It is permissible to think that the funda- 

 mental error involved was in the assump- 

 tion we are all inclined to make that any 

 distinct advance in science necessarily 

 means an equally marked and immediate 

 advance in the practise of the associated 

 art or craft. It is extremely difScult for 

 the man of the laboratory or the study, as 

 he takes a broad view of the history of the 

 industrial arts, and sees that great progress 

 there has rested upon fundamental scien- 

 tific discoveries, to realize that the art of 

 breeding differs essentially in this respect 

 from the industrial arts. The breeding of 

 animals by man for more or less definite 

 purposes goes back to prehistoric times. 

 Practically as soon as primitive man began 

 the domestication of animals he must per- 

 force have begun, in greater or less degree, 

 to control their breeding. Having started 

 thus early, the craft of breeding had at- 

 tained a relatively high degree of develop- 

 ment centuries before any attempt was 

 made to formulate the scientific principles 

 of genetics. As an example may be men- 

 tioned the breeding of horses in England. 

 It is customary to think of ' ' stallion laws, ' ' 

 aimed at the improvement of the horses 

 of a state, as very modern and American, 

 and an indication of the influence of the 

 science of breeding on the practical craft. 

 But three hundred and seventy odd years 

 ago, in the reign of Henry VIII., there was 

 passed a "bill for the breed of horses," 

 which in its preamble stated that: 



Forasmuch as the generation and breed of good 

 strong horses within this realm extendeth not only 

 to a great help and defence of the same, but also 

 is a great commodity and profit to the inhabitants 

 thereof, which is now much decayed and dimin- 

 ished by reason that, in forests, chases, moors and 

 waste grounds within this realm, little stoned 

 horses and nags of small stature and of little 



value be not only suffered to pasture thereupon, 

 but also to cover mares feeding there, whereof 

 Cometh in manner no profit or commodity. 



In order to prevent the multiplication 

 of poor specimens section 2 of this law 

 provided that no uncastrated stallion two 

 years or more old which was under 15 

 "handfulls" high should be allowed to 

 graze on common or waste land in certain 

 counties. Further it was provided in sec- 

 tion 6 that all forests, chases, commons, etc., 

 were to be "driven" at a stated time in the 

 year (just preceding Michaelmas day) and 

 all horses, mares and colts which were not 

 of good quality, or did not promise to be- 

 come or to produce serviceable animals, 

 were to be killed. 



The fact is that the practise of the art 

 of animal breeding, so far from languish- 

 ing, for want of instruction from the sci- 

 ence of genetics, is actually immeasurably 

 in advance of that science. The geneticist 

 who is disposed to think otherwise should 

 visit a great horse, or cattle, or even poul- 

 try show, and then permit himself to con- 

 sider candidly the question whether with 

 all his science he could himself breed, or teU 

 any one else how to produce, fijier speci- 

 mens than he will see there. Yet by hypoth- 

 esis that is exactly what he ought to be 

 able to do, if genetics is to set up as a 

 teacher and guide to the best practical 

 methods of live-stock breeding. 



It is capable of abundant historical proof 

 that many years ago, before the beginning 

 of the world movement towards agricul- 

 tural education, experimentation and 

 the grounding of a science of agriculture in 

 general, there were in existence individual 

 animals (even flocks and herds), and 

 strains of seeds or farm crops which were 

 probably intrinsically as fine, as produc- 

 tive, and generally as excellent as any that 

 we know to-day. Given as intelligent care 

 and feeding as our prize-winning animals 



