Re: Another controversy Arab/? crosses
idj3q@tva.gov ("idj3q@tva.gov")
Mon, 18 Nov 1996 16:04:04 -0500 (EST)
>>I know little about genetics, except for the two overriding
>>principles--hybrid vigor and "regression to the norm". That is, if you "breed
>>the best to the best and hope for the best", as espoused in racehorse
>>breeding, you don't get the best, you get a regression to the norm of the
>>families represented. The only hope for new vigor in a breed, as I understand
>>it, is outcrossing.
>>Of course, when you suddenly get the best, through outcrossing, you then line
>>breed it for a while, firming up the improvements.
Tom - I had someone explain something along this line to me some years ago
when I wanted to learn how to breed better dogs. He used an old saying "Marry
not the only fair maid of her clan" - meaning that one would have better luck
using an average individual from a family that is consistently high in the
desired qualities than by using a far superior individual from a family of a
lesser average. Also, one can't use two individuals of opposite extremes in
hope of getting something in the middle. More likely, the result would be
some qualities of one parent and some from the other which could be a pretty
disastrous combination! So, even the parents in an outcross ought to share
the traits that are most important in the offspring.
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Dave Bennett - Ben Amil & Southern Rock
Chickamauga, Georgia
e-mail: idj3q@tva.gov
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