130 CHAELES R. STOCKARD AND GEORGE N. PAPANICOLAOU 



female may devour the early aborted young. In addition to 

 this, each pregnant female is reexamined once or twice and the 

 number of fetuses in the right and left horns of the uterus re- 

 corded each time on her catalogue record. 



By this method it has been found that a number of females 

 may often absorb their embryos, either one or all, and so give 

 birth to a smaller litter than originally began development or to 

 none at all. The absorption of individual embryos seems so far 

 .as we have detected not to interfere with the development of 

 the remaining ones. These examinations of pregnant females 

 have been repeatedly controlled by opening the animals and ob- 

 serving the contents of the uterus, and the examinations in all 

 cases have been very accurate. This thorough watch over the 

 females has furnished us much more exact data as to prenatal 

 deaths, early absorptions, etc., than w^ere contained in our former 

 reports. 



The entire care of the animals has been much improved during 

 the past two years. Our records for monsters and other weak- 

 ened conditions are, therefore, somewhat reduced; yet the 

 same marked contrast between alcoholic and control is present 

 even though the weakened alcoholic lines have no doubt profited 

 more by the improved methods of care and feeding than have the 

 healthier controls. The defects are also the same in type as 

 those formerly observed, though not so marked in degree. 



4. THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL INHALATION ON THE INDIVIDUAL 



The immediate effects on guinea-pigs of inhaling alcohol are 

 somewhat similar to those observed after drinking it. As stated 

 above, the animals after some time become unable to walk with- 

 out staggering as a result of loss of muscular coordination and 

 finally reach, with a long treatment, a state of complete alco- 

 holic stupor. 



The presence of alcohol in the blood of the guinea-pig after 

 the inhalation treatment is readily detected by even simple 

 chemical tests, as we have frequently pointed out. Other in- 

 vestigators also find that alcohol is easily introduced into the 



