EFFECT OF ALCOHOL ON FOWL 185 



chronic alcoholization upon the duration of life has by no means 

 been well established. There is a widely prevaiUng popular 

 opinion that even the very moderate use of alcohol shortens 

 life. As is pointed out in the body of this paper, there seems to 

 be no critical evidence as yet that such is in fact the case. The 

 data to this effect which are usually cited are found upon exami- 

 nation not to be critical. As experimental investigations like 

 the present one, and Stockard's with guinea pigs, go on, some 

 rather definite and critical evidence should accumulate regarding 

 this point. 



It seems desirable to show by actual photographs that after 

 some 15 months of daily alcohol treatment there is very little 

 visible difference between the treated birds and their untreated 

 sisters. To this end figure 4 has been prepared. This shows 

 two pairs of treated and untreated sisters. A and C are ethyl 

 treated birds 1481 and 1489; B and D are their untreated sisters 

 1726 and 1738. All pictures are to the same scale and were 

 taken the same day, February 18, 1916. It is evident that the 

 alcohohcs are in no wise essentially different in appearance from 

 the untreated. The pose of D (Bird No. 1738) is bad; she is 

 really just as sprighly and active a bird as any of the others. 



Summarily stated the essential results of this paper are: 



1 The mortality among the treated birds was much smaller 

 than among their untreated control sisters After 15 months 

 of treatment the difference was 41 per cent in favor of the 

 treated birds. 



2. The body weight changes in the treated birds were as 

 follows: unmediately following the starting of treatment, which 

 was in the autumn, there was an increase in mean body weight, 

 probably in no way due to the treatment. Following this initial 

 rise, which reached its peak in January or Februar>% there was 

 a sharp and prolonged fall in mean body weight which reached 

 its lowest point in May or June. Beginning in June or July 

 there was a steady increase in mean body weight continuing 

 without break until the end of the period covered in this report 

 (February 1, 1916). At the date mentioned the treated birds 



