122 



ZOOLOGY 



Defective 

 young from 

 alcoholized 

 parents 



Results of 

 injury to 

 germ cells 

 of male 

 parent 



normal. Under ordinary circumstances, they do not 

 drown their sorrows in alcohol ; there are no " alcoholic " 

 families, nor is there any alcoholic past to complicate 

 matters. The reactions of these animals ought to be 

 perfectly naive and natural. In order to avoid the 

 complications arising from indigestion, Dr. Stockard 

 gave the alcohol in the form of vapor, which the guinea 

 pigs inhaled for definite periods. The individuals thus 

 treated often became blind, from the effect of the al- 

 cohol on the surface of the eye, but in other respects 

 they were little if at all injured. After a long period of 

 treatment they remained fat and vigorous. Neverthe- 

 less, their offspring plainly showed that they were affected 

 by the alcoholism of their parents. 



4. In the first place, the alcoholized individuals pro- 

 duced fewer young, and of these very many were still- 

 born, or died not long after birth. The survivors were 

 many of them markedly defective. The defects prin- 

 cipally concerned the central nervous system and special 

 sense organs. Tremors and paralysis were very com- 

 mon, as also were defects of the eyes. In extreme cases 

 the entire eyeballs and optic nerves were absent in the 

 descendants of alcoholized animals. As the size of the 

 litters was reduced through so many premature deaths, 

 it sometimes happened that rather strong animals were 

 produced in badly alcoholized lines. This resulted from 

 the advantage gained from being the only one in a 

 litter, and thus getting all the nutriment available. 



5. It might be supposed that since the young are de- 

 veloped in the body of the mother, the condition of the 

 mother, resulting from the alcohol, would be the de- 

 cisive factor. Thus it would not be a matter of inheri- 

 tance at all, in the proper sense, but only of injury to 

 the young animal before birth. Dr. Stockard's experi- 



