ULTIMATE EFFECTS OF INANITION ON SIZE 125 



The more favorable results by Osborne, Mendel and Ferry 

 ('17), who obtained three to five litters in four of their female 

 rats ref ed after stunting by inadequate diet with retarded growth, 

 is perhaps due to the fact that their inanition began at a later age 

 (five or six weeks) and terminated with a body weight (90 to 108 

 grams) nearly double that in our rats underfed for the longest 

 period. It is quite possible that there may be a critical period 

 in the development of the rat's ovary, before the age of five or 

 six weeks, when inanition is much more injurious than later. 



The testes react somewhat like the ovaries (in weight) during 

 the earlier inanition periods, but the ultimate effect is different. 

 Stewart ('18) found the testes increased in weight in rats under- 

 fed from birth to three, six, or ten weeks, but variable or de- 

 creased in those underfed for longer periods beginning at three 

 weeks of age. In the rats refed to body weight of 25 to 75 grams 

 after underfeeding from birth, Jackson and Stewart ('19) found 

 an apparent overweight in the testes in the earlier periods of re- 

 feeding, but a subnormal tendency later. 



The present data (table 2) for the underfed rats fully refed to 

 maximum body weight show a surprising tendency to overweight 

 in the testes, the average varying from about 9 to 30 per cent in 

 the various groups. Since these test males were not separately 

 mated with normal females, it is uncertain whether their normal 

 reproductive function was restored. 



The epididymides in general during inanition in young rats un- 

 dergo changes in weight somewhat similar to those in the testes, 

 tending to increase in weight in early stages, with loss in weight 

 later (Stewart) . They were found irregular in weight in rats refed 

 to a body weight of 25 to 75 grams. In the present series (table 

 2) in the rats refed to maximum body weight, the epididymides 

 show a hypertrophy even greater than that of the testes, the over- 

 weight being from 23 to 34 per cent in the various groups. 



