114 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I9IO. 



of characteristics in poultry. We have not as yet, however, 

 been able to convince ourselves that any real gain is made by 

 such interpretation. We prefer rather to await the collection 

 of a larger bulk of facts before attempting any physiological 

 interpretation of them. 



INHERITANCE OE SHAPE OE BODY. 



As has been pointed out above in the general descriptions of 

 the two breeds crossed in these experiments, there is a wide 

 distinction between them in regard to shape of body and char- 

 acteristic carriage. The Plymouth Rock is typical of the Amer- 

 ican class of birds, whereas the Cornish Indian has a typical 

 game shape, with the characteristic uprightness of carriage in 

 the males that is associated with game breeds. In the hybrids 

 we note the following facts in regard to the inheritance of this 

 character, shape of body. The inheritance here is again defi- 

 nitely related to sex. 



1. The male hybrids, regardless of the direction of the cross, 

 are all alike in possessing the characteristic shape of the Cor- 

 nish Indian Game. They show no trace of the shape of body 

 or carriage which is characteristic of the Barred Plymouth Rock 

 males. 



2. The female hybrids, on the other hand, are not so dis- 

 tinctly game-like in their characteristics. On the contrary, 

 there appears here to be an intermediate condition between 

 what is normally found in the two pure breeds. The hybrid- 

 pullets are distinctly intermediate in respect to shape of body. 



3. There appears also to be some difference here in the result 

 according to the direction in which the cross is made. The 

 barred hybrid pullets as a class conform somewhat more closely 

 to the shape of a pure Barred Plymouth Rock female than do 

 the black hybrids. The black hybrid pullets are nearer to the 

 Game standard of body shape. 



SUMMARY. 



Certain results in the first hybrid generation of reciprocally 

 crossing Barred Plymouth Rocks and Cornish Indian Games 

 are discussed. At the outstart the characteristics of these two 

 breeds are described. The following points regarding the hy- 

 brids are noted : — 



