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The Inbreeding Problem in the Light of Recent Experimentation^*

Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station

Abstract

A wide diversity of opinions as to the effects of inbreeding has long been held by scientists as well as by practical breeders. It is generally admitted that inbreeding is an important influence in "fixing" characters, but it is reputed to accentuate the bad qualities in stock as well as the good. Inbreeding was doubtless an important factor in the origin of all the important breeds of livestock. Many of the early breeders bred from the best regardless of relationship. But such methods often led to "over-refinement" and to physiological deterioration, such as constitutional weakness and lowered fecundity. As a consequence most breeders today try to follow some middle course, breeding close enough to strengthen "type" but bringing in occasional new "blood" to maintain vigor and fecundity. These methods are often designated as forms of "line breeding."

Inbreeding in its broad sense means a reduction in the possible number of ancestors which an individual may have and accordingly implies relationship among the ancestors.

^* Paper from the Department of Genetics, Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station, No. 32. Published with the approval of the Director of the Station.