Breeding methods for cattle, pigs, and poultry in the United States : including inter-state co-operation project no. 253.

  • European Productivity Agency.
Date:
[1957]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Credit: Breeding methods for cattle, pigs, and poultry in the United States : including inter-state co-operation project no. 253. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    on rotation crossings provided an excellent illustration of the development of the new breeding methods. 19. At Ames, attention was also drawn to improvement in breeding dairy cattle and the problems involved in raising beef cattle. 20. Lastly, the Regional Swine Laboratory provided an excel¬ lent example of a vast research co-ordination plan for pig breeding carried out in the States of the Corn Belt. 21. At St. Paul (Minnesota), the members of the Mission hadan opportunity of actually observing the creation of new American breeds of pigs and studying the principles governing pig breed¬ ing schemes in Minnesota. Cases of the development of inbred lines and their subsequent crossing were exemplified, not only in talks, but in visits paid to public and private experimental stations. This does not mean that the breeding of dairy cattle and beef cattle was overlooked. 22. At Madison (Wisconsin), the Mission then studied the phy¬ siology of reproduction, the blood groups of domestic animals and the research work done on the breeding of poultry, beef cattle, dairy cattle and fur animals. This was supplemented by visits to Brown Swiss and Holstein Friesian breeding stations, to experimental stations, to the local Milk Testing Laboratory and to artificial insemination centres. In particular, the Mission had an opportunity of seeing the inauguration of a vast experi¬ ment on the effects of inbreeding followed by crossing in cattle. 23. At Purdue University (Indiana), special attention was de¬ voted to some basic problems of animal genetics, physiology and hygiene before the poultry specialists, on the one hand, and the pig and cattle experts, on the other, separated to study the methods of genetic improvement and the breeding problems of these species. The poultry specialists also made a special study of the regional poultry laboratory. 24. Visits to private undertakings gave the Mission another chance to see the production of incross boars for use in a Rotation Breeding Plan and an attempt to create a type of dairy cattle adapted to hot climates. 25. The visit to Columbus (Ohio) was the last stop before the return to Washington. Here the separate groups studied the work being done on the genetics and breeding of poultry, pigs and cattle. The members of the Cattle Section also took the opportunity to visit the headquarters of the Jersey Herd Book (Jersey Cattle Club). This programme was supplemented by visits to stations. 26. On returning to Washington, the Mission obtained further information from officials of the Department of Agriculture and the Beltsville Experimental Station and also began classifying 12