39 6 WILSON GEE. 



and the striking behavior in activation with a dilute alkali 

 afford a rather interesting problem. It is one of considerable 

 complexity, related as it is so intimately with the mechanics of 

 motility in the spermatozoon. The osmotic differences due to 

 the behavior of different types of electrolytes is involved, and 

 this is rather aside from the questions aimed at in this paper. 

 The main difficulty confronting one in the injury of the sperma- 

 tozoa is to get such a dose and period of exposure as to cripple 

 the spermatozoon and at the same time not deprive it of its 

 motility and power of fertilization. Radium seems to do this 

 to an excellent degree in some forms, but the matter is a much 

 more difficult one with solutions of alcohol. 



2. Experiments on Treatment of Spermatozoa. 



In considering the experiments with the spermatozoon the 

 problem of the differentiation of the effects of the alcohol on the 

 spermatozoon and on the egg must be kept in mind. It was 

 impossible to separate the treated spermatozoa from the treating 

 agent and have them retain their fertilizing capacity. Yet as has 

 been shown in the first part of this paper, low concentrations of 

 alcohol, acting for short periods before and after fertilization, 

 materially affect the developing eggs. Several factors served to 

 reduce this effect, and on a comparative basis it would seem to 

 eliminate it by establishing a differential. 



It was found that five minutes' exposure of a control to the 

 action of the sperm served to insure about as good a fertilization 

 result as when allowed to stand for fifteen minutes. So with the 

 exception of the experiment with the twenty per cent, solution 

 of alcohol in distilled water, all of the eggs fertilized by treated 

 spermatozoa, as well as the controls, were given five minutes for 

 fertilization. The object of this was to reduce to a minimum the 

 length of time that the alcohol acted on the eggs. 



Then, again, over a hundred eggs carrying their surrounding 

 fluid and some sea water from the bodies of the fish during the 

 act of stripping served to bring to a very dilute percentage the 

 one tenth of a cubic centimeter of alcohol used. In the case of 

 the treated mass of sperm cells, the alcohol was diluted not only 

 by the milt of the male, but also by the fluid of the eggs added. 



