154 
This breeding shows very strong blood lines on both sire and dam's side, tracing 
back to the famous Eclipse, with the occurrence of the valued sire blood in family 
three times. The five leading families occur nine times in this pedigree, which speaks 
very highly for it. 
While Lowe gives do experimental records of his own. the theory he advances is 
logical as based on the laws of heredity, and his illustrations are elear and con- 
vincing. In Yact. the different adopted lines of families associated with the various 
pedigrees, studied in themselves, do represent a method of investigation as valuable 
and useful in themselves as though a line of breeding was conducted for this special 
study. Lowe's is a distinct contribution to the literature of heredity and should 
serve as a valuable guide to the progressive breeder of race horses, as well as an 
important suggestion to breeders in general. 
If the consideration of methods oi investigation so far discussed have referred to 
the work of practical men. it is in the main because scientific men have under- 
taken but little breeding investigation with domestic animals, and especially farm 
animals. The writings of the leading students of animal breeding have contained 
almost no illustrative information, based on systematic experiments with farm 
animals. Darwin gives many notes of records, but nearly all are incidental observa- 
tions and without doubt some of these have been interpreted wrongly. This con- 
stitutes one of the most serious defects in the study of animal breeding. While it is 
true that it is not absolutely essential that breeding problems shall be studied with 
farm animals in order to get an intelligent understanding of them, it is to be regret- 
ted that animals of this class have been used so little in careful, systematic, and 
extended breeding that was conducted for the verv purpose of studying cause and 
effect 
At Halle, Germany, in connection with the university and agricultural experiment 
station, there have been conducted experiments in breeding animals for over thirty 
years. In 1900 it was my pleasure to spend a brief time examining this institution 
and the stock experimented with. There is quite an extensive series of barns or 
sheds of brick with very small runs associated, and these usually paved. Here was 
a considerable collection of breeds and crosses of horses, cattle, sheep, and swine, 
and also a most interesting lot of species of various lots gathered from Europe, Africa, 
Asia, and America, used in crossbreeding. There were wild boars, buffalo, sacred 
oxen from Asia, queer fat-tailed sheep from Somaliland, and a wealth of breeding 
material, not excluding dogs, foxes, wolves, etc. The conditions of confinement 
were those of a zoological garden and certainly abnormal, but I doubt if such a 
breeding laboratory exists elsewhere in the world. It is unfortunate that the work of 
this institution should be unknown to English and American literature. 1 only know- 
that here much experimental work in breeding has been and is being conducted, but 
thus far it does not seem to be known or recognized by English or American writers 
on this subject. It is presumable that the investigations conducted represent the 
characteristic thoroughness of the German scientists. 
Perhaps that investigator attracting the most attention at the present time in breed- 
ing problems is Dr. J. Cossar Ewart, regius professor of natural history in the Uni- 
versity of Edinburgh, Scotland. About 1895, Professor Ewart inaugurated his present 
experiments. As expressed in his writings, the purpose of his experiments has been 
to make a study of certain questions in breeding, concerning which both breeders 
and scientists are at variance. These include telegony, the relative influence of male 
and female parents, the influence of mental impressions, and the transmission of 
acquired characters, as the more important subjects. 
It is impracticable to attempt anything more than a general discussion of the 
methods and work of this investigator. 
That which might attract the stockman most is represented in using a Burchell 
zebra, known as Matopo, on horses and ponies, and thus creating a variety of hybrids. 
The first cross attempted was on a pony from the island of Rum, from which resulted 
a hybrid named Komulus, born on August 2, 1896. This pony proved strong and 
hardy, was easily* broken to harness, and moves more like a zebra than a horse. It 
is doubtful if he ever proves fertile. As might be expected this pony has some 
Stripes, of a dark color, on a coat which has varied since the first shedding from a 
Learner to a mouse dun. Matopo was also bred to Valda, a chestnut polo pony, get- 
ting the hybrid Birgus, foaled May 12, 1900. The stripes in this hybrid when very 
young were nearly as distinct as in a zebra foal, but as in all the hybrids bred the 
body color is darker than in zebras. Another previous breeding of Matopo and 
Valda had resulted in twins on May 31, L898, and these were smaller and less dis- 
tinctly marked than their full brother birgus. One twin died and the other remained 
relatively small, with an action more like a stag than a colt or young zebra. 
Matopo was also bred on two different years to a bay-cart mare, 15 hands high. 
The first hybrid, Brenda, was stronger than her full sister Black Agnes. Brenda 
