GENETICS

    Judging by the remains of domesticated plants and animals found in archaeological digs, man has known something about Genetics for millennia.    At least some practical knowledge was possessed-- enough to breed these varieties from the wild type.  However, throughout the years, little was written down, perhaps since most of the breeders were not men of letters, and perhaps out of a sense of keeping one's secrets to one self.  Breeders and fanciers of pigeons and other such were known to be quite secretive concerning their methods.  It wasn't until Mendel that anyone wrote down any qualitative effort towards discerning the mysteries of heredity.  Unfortunately, Mendel's work was ignored until the early 20th century when it was independently discovered by several geneticists.