130 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1947 



toed sloth, the male of which has on its back a prominent bald area or 

 "tonsure." This sloth, and some of the large apes, appear to be the 

 only animals that resemble man in that the adult males develop com- 

 mon baldness. 



His observations thus far are in total agreement with the idea that 

 a bald spot of increasing size develops upon sexual maturation of the 

 male. It is still too early to report on his study of the anatomical 

 material he obtained on the island. The sloths used were obtained 

 through the cooperation of Mr. Shropshire and Lieutenant Keenan of 

 the United States Army Sanitary Corps. If the studies corroborate 

 the views outlined, then it will be important to study the pathogenesis 

 of this condition. Its etiology is apparently identical with that respon- 

 sible for other important pathological conditions, for example, hyper- 

 trophy and cancer of the prostate. 



His present studies are only the beginnings of further ones. No 

 one so far has made this approach through the sloth, and while quite 

 a number of males and females received male hormone treatment, it is 

 necessary to follow the experiment through on a large scale. This 

 involves also a study of the sloths themselves, to learn how to keep 

 them alive in captivity for at least 6 months. In captivity the sloth 

 is not hardy, and no one as yet has made a serious study of the food 

 habits and other characters of these animals. They are ideal for such 

 studies. 



R. J. KowAL, entomologist in charge of the Gulf port, Miss., Labora- 

 tory of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, and Ento- 

 mologists Samuel Dews and Harmon Johnston, of the same regional 

 laboratory, began their studies about 4 years ago, upon the initiative of 

 Kowal. The object was to obtain information on effective methods of 

 preserving wood against deterioration due to termites and other organ- 

 isms, as well as to rot. To quote Kowal : "The severity of conditions 

 conducive to deterioration, and the excellent facilities for scientific 

 study, make the island an ideal location for such investigations." 



The studies began in 1943 when funds were made available through 

 the United States Forest Service, and the Coordinator of Inter- Ameri- 

 can Affairs. Proposals for this work came as an outgrowth of requests 

 for information from the Public Roads Administration, the War and 

 Navy Departments, and other agencies engaged in the war effort. 

 Briefly stated, the Inter- American Road became an urgent need, steel 

 for bridges was hard to get and its transportation a problem, and to 

 erect wood-preservation plants with creosote on the list of critical 

 materials was out of the question. Could we not poison soils at the 

 bridge abutments so as to eliminate the termite and rot hazard, and 

 could we utilize native resistant trees by the additional process of 

 sap-stream impregnation ? 



