BREEDING 47 



the remote ancestors. A common example of reversion 

 or breeding back can be cited in the case of Columbian 

 Wyandottes, by the presence of stubs or small feathers 

 appearing on the shanks of some individuals of this variety. 

 This is attributed to the feathered shanks of the Light 

 Brahma which was one of the breeds used in originating the 

 Columbian Wyandotte. 



Correlation. By correlation is meant the close associa- 

 tion of certain characters with other characters. For in- 

 stance, there is a close correlation between red ear lobes 

 and brown or tinted-shelled eggs in that one of these char- 

 acteristics is rarely found without the other. 



Regression refers to the factor in breeding which has to 

 do with the inclination of the offspring to be nearer the 

 average of the breed than were the parents. An example 

 of this principle can be cited when a mating is made of a 

 male and female which are larger than the average weight 

 for the breed. The majority of the offspring from this mating 

 are very apt to be smaller in size than were the parents. 

 Likewise this principle is in evidence when the parents are 

 smaller than the average for the breed, in which case a greater 

 percentage of the offspring is apt to average larger in size 

 than the parents. Regression is ordinarily not limited to 

 one or a few individuals but appears in the mass or greater 

 percentage of the offspring. 



Progression. This term applies to the production of an 

 occasional individual which is outstanding in quality or 

 performance or both as compared to the breed in general. 

 Progression applies to the individual rather than to the mass 

 of the offspring. An illustration of this principle of breeding 

 is as follows: A male and female of good quality may be 

 mated and as the result one of the offspring may develop into 

 a specimen that far surpasses not only the parent stock in 

 every particular but is beyond that which is even occasionally 



