A PRELIMINARY STATEMENT OF THE RESULTS OF 
Mr. HOUWINK’S EXPERIMENTS CONCERNING THE 
ORIGIN OF SOME DOMESTIC ANIMALS 
by J. P. Lorsy and K. Kuiper. 
INTRODUCTION. 
Mr. R. Houwınk Hzn. of Meppel, had devoted, during the last 
25 years all his leasure time to a study of domestic animals, 
mostly poultry, studying them successively from a Lamarckian, 
Darwinian and de Vriesean standpoint, until, after the Mendelian 
principles had become known to him, a more systematic study, 
based on these principles was begun, in which it was the senior 
author’s privilege to advise him. It was however soon recognised 
that an occasional visit to Mr. HOUWINKS, at that time altogether 
too extensive experiments, followed by an exchange of experience 
and theoretical principles, even with the addition of a more and 
more frequent correspondence could not. lead to the desired result. 
So Mr. HOUWINK, who had had no biological training himself and 
whose business allowed him but limited time for the perusal of 
the more and more overwhelming litterature, decided to get permanent 
scientific assistance. 
As has already been said, Mr. Houwiınk’s experiments, had 
become altogether too extensive, as a natural result of the attempt 
to find the most suitable material to throw light on the origin of 
at least one domestic animal. 
Towards the end of that great catastrophe — the World war — 
they consisted of no less than 25 series of experiments, which 
may here be enumerated. 
1. Breeding Gallus gallus (bankiva s. ferrugineus), the Bankiva 
or Red Jungle Fowl. 
