196 STOCKARD— CONTROL OF DEVELOPMENT. [April 19. 



probably as different chemically as the animals are morphologically. 

 Therefore, if the chemical nature of the germ cells is disturbed or 

 injured by the action of poisons in the animal's blood they will prob- 

 ably show this injury in the type of individual to which they 

 give rise. 



Constantine Paul long ago found in studying 88 cases of preg- 

 nancy among women lead workers that 71 resulted in abortion, pre- 

 mature labour, or stillbirth while only 17 children were born alive 

 and of these five died within the first year. Several of these women 

 later produced healthy children after leaving this work. (This indi- 

 cates that when the cause is known for defective development the 

 cure may often be established by its removal.) Lead not only 

 effects the developing foetus but also acts directly upon the germ 

 cells as is shown in the case of men working in lead while their 

 wives were not exposed to the poison. Many of the offspring from 

 such fathers are aborted and the children born are epileptic, feeble- 

 minded or generally defective. 



To return to the results furnished by the guninea pig experi- 

 ments referred to above — I have chosen healthy individuals and 

 treated them daily with the fumes of 95 per cent, alcohol to about 

 the point of intoxication. Feeding alcohol and giving it by stomach 

 tube was first tried, both of these methods were unsatisfactory as 

 the guinea pigs did not take alcoholic food in sufficient quantity and 

 the stomach tube disturbed the animals to such a degree that I 

 feared the experimental result might be vitiated even though it 

 could be partially controlled. The inhalation method is perfectly 

 satisfactory ; the animals are placed in a copper tank having a screen 

 floor which holds them above the evaporating alcohol. The alcohol 

 is breathed directly into the lungs and aft'ects the animals readily, 

 in much the same manner as weak treatments of ether or chloroform 

 would. The animals are thus put into a condition of chronic alco- 

 holism, being almost intoxicated six times per week. Many of these 

 guinea pigs have been killed and their lungs, liver and other organs 

 '--amined and found to be perfectly normal so far as their appear- 

 ance .goes. The conjunctiva over the eyes is very often affected 

 by the fumes, during the beginning of the treatment the eyes often 



