274 THE TREND OF THE RACE 
One fact of much interest is that guinea pigs from alcoholized 
parents produce a relatively defective progeny even though they 
may not have been given alcohol themselves. ‘‘ Animals as far as 
three generations removed from the direct alcohol treatment are 
still differentiated as a group from the control in regard to the 
weight of the litters in which they are born, the tendency of the 
litters to result in failure, the high proportion of prenatal mor- 
tality over postnatal, and the total mortality which is one and 
one-half times higher than the normal.” Deformities and defects 
appear much more commonly in the alcoholic strains. Among 
these were paralysis agitans, opaque cornea, cataract and opaque 
lenses, small defective eyes, complete absence of one eye, and, 
finally, complete absence of both eyeballs. In some cases there 
were deformities of the limbs, albinos, and dwarf forms with a low 
degree of vitality. No defects were noted in the normal line. 
Defects sometimes arose in strains in which the males only had 
been alcoholized, in some cases the treatment having been given 
only to the grandparents or great-grandparents of the deformed 
animal. 
It is a noteworthy fact that when males alone are subjected 
to alcohol the effect on the early mortality of the offspring is 
often very marked, although in other respects the greatest injury 
is done when the females only are treated. In the latter case 
there is opportunity not only for the germ cells to become affected 
so as to produce a true hereditary change, but the embryo may be 
directly injured by the alcohol in the mother’s blood. Deteriora- 
tion in offspring as a result of intoxication of the male parent can 
scarcely be due to anything but a change produced in the germ 
cells. The fact that defects thus arising may be transmitted to 
further generations is indicative of the production of a true 
hereditary effect through a modification of the germ plasm. 
The investigations of Pearl on the hereditary effects of alcohol 
on the domestic fowl yielded results apparently at least opposed 
to those obtained by Stockard and his co-workers with guinea 
pigs. The alcohol was administered by the inhalation method. 
The fowl subjected to alcohol weighed on an average less than 
