Evening star., 1954-01-15
Scientists Are Working
10 Produce Hybrid Hen
Success Would Be Great
Boon to Poultry Industry
By Thomos R. Henry

Possibility Of producing hybrid
hens" comparable in the animal world;
with hybrid corn in the vegetable, is
being explored under Rockefeller Foun-
dation grants.
Introduction Of hybrid corn a little
more than q generation ago produced
one Of the greatest revolutions yet
known In American agriculture. It
vastly increased the yield Of Americas
chief grain crop without use of any
more land or any additional expense.
Hybrid corn resulted from the chance
discovery Of the phenomenon of heter-
osis or hybrid vigor. GeneticiSts found
that If. in particular variety of corn,
pollen from a given plant is used to
fertilize the same plant, the variety
tends to decrease in size and vigor in
successive generations as it's genetic
constitution becomes more and more
pure. Then II two such inbred lines
are used to produce single cross. and
II this single cross is bred with a,
different single cross to produce a.
hybrid double cross. suddenly and
dramatically there occurs a great gain
In uniformity, size and yield. The effect
has been utilized for a few plant crops,
but the underlying mechanism never
yet has been completely understood.
Potential applications to other crops
and to animal breeding have been
handicapped by this lack Of knowledge.
Chickens Studied.
Now, with Rockefeller Foundation
support and under the sponsorship
of the Department of Agriculture, an
OF 10 hnip0 h0
direction of DR.. D. c. Warren to
elucidate the mechanisrns so that they
can be applied to chicken breeding.
If something like hybrid vigor can
be attained Systematically with both
the size and the quantity Of egg
production. the effect on the poultry;
industry should be marked. These
two characteristics differ markedly in.
their heritability. Egg production is
low in heritability and shows con-,
siderable heterosis in crosses, whereas
egg size is relatively high in herit-:
ability and seldom shows heterosis.
Geneticists and ag-iculturistS
throughout the country will be watch,
ing the results with great interest.
There has been tenfold increase
in the money available for medical
research in the United States during
the past decade-from about $18 mil
lion just before World War II to-
$181 million now.
This is reported by Drs. Kenneth;
NJ Endicott and Ernest M. Allen Of
the National Institutes of Health. The
greatest jump, from $18 million to Sis
million, came during the war years.
with the emergency need for research
in many medical fields. Normally this
could have been expected to drop of
with the end of the emergency. In
stead. research has been extended and
intensified.
United States Aid Increased.
Notable has been the increased part
played by the Federal Government
which provided only $28 million in 1946,
and $76 million in 1851. The compa-
rable contributions from American in.
dustry were $55 million and $50 million,
Contributions from all other sources,
including foundations, were S32 million
in 1916 and $45 million in 1851.
Expenditures for medical research
have increased out of proportion to
the national income. the doctors report.
In 1910, for example, .02 per cent Of
national income was spent for medical
research. This now has been increased
to OF per cent. with probabilities Of
still further increase.
Rapid expansion in medical research:
was inevitable at the end of the wars
Drs. Endicott and Allen say. Military.
necessity had required the initiation
of the expansion and had set in motion;
the build-up Of manpower, facilities,
and the interest of academic scientists.
The general public. deeply impressed by,
the success of atomic research, mani.
tested its desire to support medical.
research by establishing and giving
generously to voluntary associations.
"A major effect has been to stimu-
late research in neglected fields-par-,
ticularly on some of the chronic
diseases"