Factors affecting the sex ratio of swine.

• Main Author: Belanger, Jean-Marc.
• Other Authors: Moxley, J. (Supervisor)
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: McGill University 1964
• Subjects: Animal Science.
• Online Access: http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=115356

The idea of the control of the sex ratio is not a recent one. According to Gordon (1958), men have been attempting to control or predict the sex of their offspring for thousands of years. This subject was discussed in a Chinese Manuscript about 4,400 years ago. An Egyptian papyrus of 2,200 B.C. noted that a pregnant woman with the use of greenish cast was certain to bear a son. Aristotle believed that the placing of the marriage bed in a north-south direction favored the conception of boys. These are examples of the many beliefs that have been reported regarding sex determination, which have since been demonstrated to be false. The scientific history of the subject of sex determination began with the discovery of the genetic mechanism by which sex is determined in mammals. According to genetic theory, the male mammal has a special pair of sex chromosomes made up of one X chromosome and one so-called Y chromosome.