The collection of data on fertility and fecundity was continued, and an analysis of separate flock records has been made to investigate the question of the effects of the age of the parents and their breeding history on the fertility of particular matings. From these records it appears that ewes of five years of age yield the greatest fall of lambs, while the age of the ram has little effect. on the fertility of his matings.

In co-operation with Professor R. G. White of the Department of Agriculture, University of North Wales, a study has been made of the fertility and sex-ratio in Welsh Mountain sheep with special reference to the effects of environment.

An investigation has been undertaken on the effects of environment on the distribution of pure-bred sheep in the British Isles. The development of certain breeds in certain more or less confined areas is a matter of history; their spread and in many cases subsequent localisation are questions involving many considerations, the most important of which must be those of suitability to local environment. An attempt is in progress to determine the conditions apparently most suitable for the various pure breeds as indicated by their geographical distribution at the present time.

The effect of a change in environment has been studied, the material used being Corriedale sheep imported into Scotland from New Zealand by Mr James Piper of The Grange, Burntisland. The intention was primarily to examine the possibilities of the Corriedale as a pure breed, but as the rams were allowed to run with a number of ewes of various sorts, the resulting crossbred rams were also examined.

The effect of meteorological factors in fertility has been studied. Data for flocks of Cheviot and Blackface sheep extending over fourteen years taken in conjunction with meteorological records for the same time indicated differential response of the two breeds to climate. The mean temperature at tupping time has a greater influence on the total yield of lambs than the mean temperature at lambing time, and the latter condition has a greater influence on Cheviots than on Blackfaces.

Pigs.-The work on pigs is carried out along two main lines :— (a) a study of the ideal types of bacon and pork pig; and (b) a study of inheritance of specific characteristics and blemishes. As regards the first, in co-operation with Mr H. R. Davidson of the School of Agriculture, Cambridge, a survey of the whole situation with reference to the type of breeding pig has been made. It is suggested that Pig-recording Societies should be established in Great Britain, analogous to Milk-recording Societies. Superimposed on these will be Type-testing Stations, where results will be checked and further basic information obtained. It is intended to make accurate estimations as regards prolificacy and maternal ability of the sow and general quality of the progeny. For this purpose, the Department is working in co-operation with a bacon factory, and the final

estimate of the value of a sow's litter will be made after the curing records are available.

With the co-operation of the Prison Commissioners for Scotland investigations relating to the inheritance of colour, prolificacy, and mane, and also of hernia, are being carried out at Barlinnie; and, at the Department itself, hermaphroditism, "rose," comparative growth and double matings are being studied.

Horses.-The investigation of the role of inbreeding in the formation of the Clydesdale breed was continued, and extended to the prize-winning stallions of the past 30 years. The data show that, with the exception of the two periods 1885-1890 and 1900-1905, the prize-winning stallions have, on the average, been distinctly more inbred that the stallions of the breed as a whole. In an investigation of the sex-ratio of the Clydesdale some 132,000 births have been classified. It would appear that the greater the number of services a stallion may make, the greater will be the proportion of filly foals; the percentage of still-births varies inversely with the sex-ratio. The greatest proportion of male still-births corresponds to the conception period which produced the greatest number of filly foals.

A study of the inheritance of defects appears to show that some defects are inherited in a recessive manner, thus making it more difficult to eliminate them. Examples are stringhalt, roaring, and shivering, a predisposition to sidebone and ringbone and sterility.

Cattle. The position of prize-winners in the various Shorthorn classes at the annual Show of the Highland and Agricultural Society was studied in relation to the ages of their parents. It was found that the greater number of the prize-winners studied were sired by bulls four years of age or under, out of cows five years of age or under.

Prolificacy in cattle has also been studied, and the conclusion reached is that prolificacy can be increased by breeding for twinning, which is a heritable character. This must, however, be done very carefully owing to the danger of one of the twins proving a freemartin.

Smaller Animals.-Among the smaller animals a study has been made of the inheritance of horns, colour, beard, and tassels in the goat. The work with fowls includes an investigation of the role of the thyroid gland in determining the structure and coloration of the plumage; a study of the miniature egg; a study of fertility in the fowl, and a series of investigations on the relation of the reproductive glands to the type of plumage and of the head furnishings. In the rabbit, investigations have been begun into moult, woolling powers, growth, and the genetics of the Caster Rex rabbit. In mice, the genetics of silvering and the piebald pattern are being studied, as well as the effect of inbreeding.

INVESTIGATION INTO THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FLEECE.

A special effort was made to study exhaustively in sheep of different breeds several new methods for measuring fleece characters.

The chief points considered were (a) fineness as measured by the length of fibre contained in unit weight, (b) lock variation, (c) density, or the number of fibres growing on a unit area, and (d) rate of growth. In this work one of the most important questions is the method of sampling to be employed and the error due to sampling. To determine this, frequent sampling from various types of sheep is necessary.

VISIT OF SCIENTIFIC COMMISSION TO ALGERIA.

In the latter part of the year a joint scientific commission was appointed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Board to inspect and report on grafting experiments on live stock carried out by Dr. Serge Voronoff in Algeria. The Scottish representatives on the Commission were Dr. F. A. E. Crew of the Animal Breeding Research Department, Edinburgh University, and Mr W. C. Miller of the Royal (Dick) Veterinary College. The report of the Commission was in course of preparation at the end of the year.

EDINBURGH AND East of SCOTLAND COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE.

INVESTIGATION INTO THE CAUSES OF CROP FAILURE ON
CERTAIN ACID SOILS.

Field plot experiments on the growth of barley on an area of acid soil at the College Experimental Farm, Boghall, Midlothian, were continued. Owing to the bad season it was impossible to harvest all the plots satisfactorily, but the results obtained confirm those of last year, and there is also evidence that the effect of dressings of lime is stronger in the second and third years after application.

The laboratory work on the effect of the treatment of the soil on the exchangeable calcium content has been carried further, and it has been found that all the calcium compounds used, with the exception of calcium chloride, increased the exchangeable calcium by an appreciable amount. In the case of calcium chloride, the amount of exchangeable calcium was increased in the first year of application, but when the soil was sampled two years after the date of application it showed little difference from the untreated plots.

The amount of unchanged calcium carbonate in the various plots treated with this substance has been estimated, and also the phosphate content of the plots treated with various forms of calcium phosphate.

In the untreated soil considerable quantities of aluminium could be extracted with a solution of sodium chloride. Soil from plots treated with lime (in the form of carbonate and of oxide) gave no aluminium on treatment with a sodium chloride solution. The amount of aluminium extractable with sodium chloride solution has been diminished considerably by treatment of the soil with phosphates.

MINERALOGICAL STUDY OF SOIL TYPES.

The mineralogical study of soil types has been mainly confined to those types recorded at Boghall Farm, where the soils of both the hill pasture and the level cultivated flat have been examined. The geology of the hill area is complicated by a number of rock types, which are in part covered by glacial gravels, sands, and clays, and in many places with scree material. Because of this the soils are made up of complicated suites of minerals, but in all cases there is a high content of silicates containing the principal bases required for plant food. In this connection particular attention is being paid to the presence and state of weathering of such minerals as are rich in potash and phosphate. The soils of the cultivated flat have also been examined.

The data already available indicate that soils may be grouped according to their mineralogy, and it is possible that a knowledge of mineral content of soils may give information which at present is obtainable only by lengthy chemical analysis.

Analyses of the mineral content of the soil types collected in East Lothian are at present being made.

Numerous field visits were made, particularly in East Lothian, Fife, and Forfarshire, to collect soils and to study the soil profiles in these localities. Samples of the basal boulder-clay, the parent material for the majority of soils in Scotland, were also collected, and it is intended to study the mineralogy of the clays.

WEST OF SCOTLAND AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

SOIL SURVEY.

The field investigation of the soils of Renfrewshire and northern Ayrshire was continued during the year, and field experiments were designed with a view to examining the response of certain of the more widely distributed soil types under liming and a variety of manurial dressings. Lines of systematic samples have been taken from the great alluvial stretch between Paisley and the Clyde at Erskine Ferry with a view to arranging these in series under a suitable scheme of classification. Samples of five of the main soil types of Renfrewshire are undergoing analysis and examination. Further extents of old pasture on the brown lava loams (Blairston Type) of Lochwinnoch and Howwood areas, on the clay loams of Johnstone area, and on the alluvial lands of lower Renfrewshire have been dealt with. Revision has been made of some of the soil types of (1) Stirlingshire (including carse lands); (2) Mull of Galloway, Dunragit area, Newton Stewart to Whithorn in the Machar district of Wigtownshire, and parts of southern Kirkcudbright.

Areas in the counties of Dumbarton, Stirling, and Perth were examined with a view to noting the nature of bracken growth on various soil types, while a detailed study was made of a very interesting case of apparent bracken failure near Comrie.

A new method of fixing soil colour standards was devised by the preparation of a set of coloured films in which the colours are derived from the finer material of each soil type and the film from collodion.

SOIL ANALYSIS.

The work in this section has been confined to (1) a continuation of a joint detailed survey of the area extending from the neighbourhood of Beith to the Clyde Valley; (2) a rapid survey, on the basis of soil texture as indicated by examination in the field, of about 400 square miles situated in northern Ayrshire and parts of Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire. The data recorded include soil acidities, profiles, colour, agricultural practices, etc. A soil texture map of the area has been completed, while the analytical work and the writing of the relative memoir will shortly be finished. The work is being carried on with the assistance of and the co-operation of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, and the results will in the first instance be published in the memoirs of that Department.

A large number of soil samples has been examined and reported upon. In some cases visits of inspection were made and advice given respecting liming, manuring, cropping, etc.

WINTERING OF BEES.

The investigation has proved that winter protection for colonies of bees is desirable, and that insulation will reduce the loss of bee-life during the cold weather. With certain forms of packing colonies of bees maintain a more even temperature and consume considerably less food.

Temporary winter cases have been used with excellent results. These have been constructed with a light wooden frame, upon which cheap roofing felt has been nailed. The space between the outer and inner walls has been packed with hay, straw, corkdust, chaff, dead leaves, etc., cheap materials being used in order to limit the cost to the bee-keeper.

Observation has been made on the shape and movement of the winter cluster and on the consumption of food with various types of winter coverings. Temperatures have also been recorded of various colonies of bees at regular periods.

INVESTIGATION INTO STRAWBERRY DISEASE.

Com

Two series of plots, one on heavy clay and the other on light sandy soil, were laid out to test the theory that soil conditions are the dominating factor in control of the disease. parison was made of the effects of (a) various quantities of different natural and artificial manures, (b) lime, (c) soil sterilants, and (d) drainage. Further trials are to be made with non-infected plants and of soil and plant sterilisation methods.