EFFECTS OF DRUGS ON WHITE MICE 135 
Nicotine and tobacco smoke 
Tobacco infusion injected into young rabbits by Richon and 
Perrin (46) had a decided stunting effect; however, if the injec- 
tions were stopped, the animals gained rapidly and soon equalled 
the controls. Rabbits subjected to the fumes of tobacco by 
Zebrowski (60) for six to eight hours daily for several months 
suffered from loss of appetite and great emaciation, losing from 20 
to 47 per cent of their weight. Nicotine injected into eggs by 
Féré (19) seemed to be a poison to some and a stimulant to others. 
Fleig (21) subjected guinea pigs to heavy inhalations of tobacco 
smoke, to injections of extract of smoke or injections of nicotine, 
and obtained abortions, still-births, under-sized, weak and stunted 
young. Unfortunately he fails to give definite details and condi- 
tions of his experiments. 
Thirteen cases of sexual impotence caused by the abuse of 
tobacco are reported by Cannata (9); abstinence from smok- 
ing restored the men to a normal condition. Hitchcock (52) at 
Amherst College and Seaver (52) at Yale found by measuring 
students that the smokers developed less in height and lung capac- 
ity during their college course than the nonsmokers. Meylan 
(39), however, at Columbia could not find that smoking had any 
decided effect on growth. 
Caffeine 
No experiments could be found on the effects of caffeine on 
growth and reproduction. Rivers and Weber (47) show that 
caffeine increases capacity for muscular work. The investiga- 
tions of Cramer (12), Pincussohn (44), Sasaki (50), Schulz- 
enstein (51) and Voit (57) indicate that coffee and tea retard 
digestion. 
METHODS 
A comparative study was undertaken to test the effects of 
alcohol, nicotine and caffeine on the offspring of animals, when 
fed in small enough amounts so as not to injure their health. 
White mice were chosen for the experiments since they breed 
rapidly, so that the results could be based on large numbers, and a 
