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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVII. No. 689 



noxious plants and animals with the use- 

 ful and urged that investigations should 

 be made as to the best method of shipping 

 plants and animals so as to prevent intro- 

 ducing diseases or injurious insects. 

 Methods of quarantine should be made the 

 object of a rigorous scientific inquiry. The 

 discussion brought out the present danger 

 from the importation to this country of a 

 Peronospora disease of corn that has re- 

 cently appeared in Java; and a new 

 disease that appeared among cattle in 

 India two years ago and has cost much to 

 eradicate. 



A report on "Animal Hybridizing" was 

 read by Professor W. J. Spillman. The 

 greater part of the report was based on 

 the work of Mr. M. M. Boyd, of Bobcay- 

 geon, Ontario, who is crossing bison and 

 cattle. The hybrids are large; the hump 

 of the bison is dominant (though incom- 

 pletely so) and, in consequence, the cuts of 

 this part of the vertebral column contain, 

 in the hybrid, double the quantity of lean 

 meat that is yielded by cattle. The lean 

 hind quarters of the bison are recessive, con- 

 sequently the hybrid offers large cuts of 

 meat in this valuable portion also. Cer- 

 tain difficulties occur in hybridizing. The 

 bison is usually taken as bull, but the 

 abnormal amount of amniotic iiuid pro- 

 duced frequently kills the cow, so the cow 

 must be as large as possible. More male 

 hybrids die early than females and they are 

 often sterile, but several good breeders 

 were obtained that were fertile with either 

 parent species. Mr. Spillman referred also 

 to the practical application among breeders 

 of the knowledge that the polled condition 

 is a mendelian dominant. An investiga- 

 tion is being made by the committee on the 

 relative vigor of hybrid hogs over pure 

 bred. A case was cited of the recent dis- 

 covery by a Michigan wool buyer of two 

 samples in his stock that were worth 90 

 cents per pound as compared with 25 cents 



for other wool. An attempt will be made 

 to find the origin of this peculiarly valu- 

 able wool. 



Mr. C. M. Winslow, of the Ayrshire 

 Breeders' Association, spoke of methods 

 used by the association for perfecting the 

 breed. He traced the history of the breed 

 from the native wild cattle of Ayr in Scot- 

 land through the first stages of their im- 

 provement in 1700 until they were first im- 

 ported to America in 1837. He stated 

 that the ideal is the creation of a dairy 

 producer rather than a show ring cow and 

 that tests of the milk production of a cow 

 for advanced registry extend over a full 

 year. 



A paper by Mr. J. J. Hemingway, of the 

 American Jersey Cattle Club, was read by 

 Dr. W. H. Dexter, of Washington. The 

 history of Jersey cattle in America was 

 traced from their introduction into the 

 United States in 1850. He stated that the 

 ideals of the club were beauty of form 

 inside the type and much milk rich in 

 butterfat; and cited many cases of ex- 

 tremely high performances of individual 

 cows. 



Professor Andrew Boss, of the Minnesota 

 Agricultural College, reported on "Breed- 

 ing for Meat Production." Improvement 

 is brought about by considering perform- 

 ance first and ancestry second. Progress is 

 hampered by the necessity of judging "on 

 the block" — the prize winning individual 

 can not be a breeder. Improvement is 

 made by breeding from individuals that 

 gain weight economically, that are prolific 

 breeders, and that belong to strains or 

 families that show well when cup up for 

 market. Feeding records, breeding records 

 and block records are the basis of improve- 

 ment. It is also desirable to attempt by 

 breeding to gain disease-resistant strains. 

 In the discussion Mr. Spillman spoke of 

 the high percentage of tuberculosis of 

 calves fed on skim milk or following cows. 



