Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1901-12-07
DAIRY AND POULTRY.
INTERESTING CHAPTERS FOR OUR
RURAL READERS.
Hsw Successful Farmers Operate This
Department. of the Parma Few
Hints to the Care of Live stock
and Poultry.
r.leg.nv and Variation.

Teleganv and Variation.
From the Farmers Review)
1t is quite a common thing to hear
stockmen claim that where a female
has been bred to male of alien blood
AS for instance where Poland-China
sow is bred to a Berkshire boar, or
purebred sow of any breed by accident
to a scrub boar-she will ever after
wards be Influenced by that service
and ''taint" or infect her future pro-
geny with some of the characteristics
of the alien boar to which she was for
merly bred. We have even heard breed
ers go farther than this and actually
claim that where a purebred boar OF
any particular breed had been allowed
to mate with sow of scrub or non
descript blood that he would be tainted
for all time and propagate in future
matings with sows of his own pure
breed some of the undesirable charac-
teristics of his alien mate. These ideas
are anteQuated and erroneous. The
first idea has been termed "telegony,
by which we mean the alleged in
fluence of a previous alien mate upon
a purebred females future progeny to
the service of a purebred mate of her
own breed. This theory has still many
followers but that is because they are
ignorant of facts which have been
proved of recent years and show con-
clusively that the theory is erroneous
The most extended and careful experl-
ments have been made by Prof. ]. Cos
sar Ewart of Scotland to prove or dis
prove this theory. Year after year he
mated mares with zebras and the hy-
brid progeny showed all the marked
stripes and colors of the zebra When,
however, the mare that had one year
given birth to hybrid zebra was the
next season mated with male OF her
own blood and breed she did not pro-
duce a hybrid foal or one that showed
the slightest trace of zebra character
istics. The foal was invariably true to
the breed characteristics of the sire
and dam-not to the characteristics or
the previous zebra mate. This was
proved over and over again and not
one single case of infection" or
''taint" has been noted to date nor is 1t
likely to occur. 1t need scarcely be add
ed that the mating of the zebra male
with the domesticated mare had no
after effect in changing the type and
characteristics of his pure bred zebra
strong in prepotency than the zebra
There have been no admixtures OF
blood in his production. He breeds
true to his type every time. There are
no sports or examples of "atav1sm
Throwing back to the characteristics
of a remote ancestor) in his history
and breed. His stripes are fixed guam
titles and features so to speak and
hence would be stamped upon his do
nestle mate If anything OF tue sort
could be so stamped, but such has not
proved to be the case. This being SO
1t becomes very apparent that there
would be far less possibility of such
Infection of the female when bred
to a sire of different breed but do
mestic origin. 1t cannot be denied that
far back in the foundation OF crosses
of each modern breed of animals SINH
lar blood has been used, or that present
progeny does not occasionally "hark
back" to some ancient ancestor used to
effect the formation Of a pure breeo.
That barking back is atavism in cases
where there is a very marked depar-
ture from the parental type or color
to a known ancestor of that type or
color; and the variation when present
progeny do not accord with either pa
rent in type, color, characteristics or
any other particular. Such variation
is to be looked for at all times. 1t is
liable to occur in every breed 1t is
usually the true explanation of cases
considered corroborative of the erron-
eous theory of telegony. 1t is an in
fuence in breeding which cannot be
controlled absolutely yet explains some
of the strangest vagaries in the mat
ing of animals. Variation is seen in
short time when a breed of swine pro-
duced by selection, proper environ
ment and generous feeding is for q
generation or too ill housed, poorly
fed and inbred. The established type
may be largely lost but this is varia-
ton from the original type and rever-
sion to the more ancient type of the
scrub ancestors. Variation is either
backward or forward according to cir
cumstances. Variation toward i'm
provement Is possible where a con-
tinued effort Is made to us better sires
and dams each year, and to feed and
shelter better. Neglect in these mat
ters may as speedily make . breed or
herd retrogress-
Tak:rg ComPosite MIX Samples.