The authors of "Biometrical Genetics" respond to Professor Falconer's review, addressing two main points. First, Falconer's review may have given the impression that their approach is not suitable for studying randomly breeding populations. However, the authors clarify that while they focus on crosses between true-breeding lines, they have dedicated a chapter to analyzing randomly breeding and partially inbred populations. They discuss methods for analyzing such populations, including human populations without experimental tests, and compare experimental methods for partitioning variation in randomly breeding populations. They also mention applications in animals and plants, using Tribolium data for illustration. They argue that their approach, based on inbred line crosses, provides a clearer understanding of experimental design and interpretation. They also mention their work on maternal inheritance, sex-linkage, and haploid organisms. Second, Falconer expresses disappointment that the book does not discuss applications in plant breeding. The authors acknowledge useful applications in plant breeding and believe more will come. They also mention their work on the genetic architecture of continuous variation, including a figure illustrating the impact of past selection. They note that including such material would have made the book too long and thank Falconer for his suggestion. The authors conclude by thanking Falconer and hoping his comments are of interest and use.The authors of "Biometrical Genetics" respond to Professor Falconer's review, addressing two main points. First, Falconer's review may have given the impression that their approach is not suitable for studying randomly breeding populations. However, the authors clarify that while they focus on crosses between true-breeding lines, they have dedicated a chapter to analyzing randomly breeding and partially inbred populations. They discuss methods for analyzing such populations, including human populations without experimental tests, and compare experimental methods for partitioning variation in randomly breeding populations. They also mention applications in animals and plants, using Tribolium data for illustration. They argue that their approach, based on inbred line crosses, provides a clearer understanding of experimental design and interpretation. They also mention their work on maternal inheritance, sex-linkage, and haploid organisms. Second, Falconer expresses disappointment that the book does not discuss applications in plant breeding. The authors acknowledge useful applications in plant breeding and believe more will come. They also mention their work on the genetic architecture of continuous variation, including a figure illustrating the impact of past selection. They note that including such material would have made the book too long and thank Falconer for his suggestion. The authors conclude by thanking Falconer and hoping his comments are of interest and use.