134 Mr Heape, Notes on the Proportion of the Sexes in Bogs. 
Although below I shall show that accurate records of the sex 
of puppies horn prove that, in a variety of breeds, a still higher 
proportion of dogs is produced than is recorded in these tables, 
I think it is nevertheless justifiable to conclude that the figures 
now dealt with are not widely misleading and that they demon- 
strate sufficiently clearly the broad conclusions I have drawn 
from them, namely : 
In spite of the fact that it must be assumed all births are not 
recorded, the marked increase in the proportion of dogs registered 
as born in the winter months is very striking, and I am of opinion 
it may be assumed that conception during the six months June 
to November, and especially during the last four of these months, 
August to November, is more highly favourable to the production 
of male than of female Greyhounds under the conditions of breeding 
now practised. 
The fact that the preponderance of births of dogs over bitches 
is greater at one time of the year than at another, and that an 
excessive preponderance of male births is associated with a low 
birth rate, during the winter months, is worthy of notice in its 
relation to the normal breeding time of these animals, i.e. to the 
time when the generative organs are in their most active condition, 
and therefore in relation to the view that the sex of the ova 
produced is governed by selective action. 
The Stock Keeper, Kennel Register. 
The records contained in the Kennel Register are open to the 
same objection which has been admitted for the Greyhound Stud 
Book, namely, that all pups born are not necessarily registered ; 
but, as a comparison of these returns with breeders’ Schedule 
returns (given below) will show, the objection is certainly not a 
weighty one in this case. I have, therefore, abstracted details for 
a series of breeds, of which there are sufficient entries, for the 
years 1889 — 1891, Table IV, and also added the annual totals of 
every entry made for all breeds for those years. Table V. The 
returns in Table IV have been classified into Large dogs and 
Terriers, and it is seen that while the dogs born per 100 bitches 
among Terriers is 113, among Large dogs it rises to 11751. At 
the same time it is shown that whereas among Terriers the pups 
per litter work out at an average of 5 '4, among Large dogs the 
litters are considerably bigger and average 7‘5 pups. The class of 
dog with the highest fertility per litter thus appears to produce 
the largest proportion of dog pups. 
The results obtained for the Large dogs are dominated by 
Collies, St Bernards, and Spaniels ; those for Terriers by Bull, 
Irish, and Fox Terriers; to test this point further I have isolated 
these breeds, with the following results : 
