1908. | On the Action of Extract of Adrenal Cortex. 475 
birds, care being taken to cleanse the skin at the site of injection and to seal 
the puncture, directly the needle was withdrawn, with collodion. 
The usual site of injection was the loose tissue of the fold of the thigh, and 
although “ knots,” which we early found betoken necrosis of small masses of 
fat, regularly appeared within a day or two, the experiments were persevered 
in since they obviously produced no ill-effect on the general health of the bird 
or any painful local reaction. Usually the birds received an injection every 
second or third day. After a month or six weeks we found that the birds so 
injected not only failed to acquire the male plumage more rapidly, but were, in 
fact, tardy in assuming it. This applies especially to the young birds in their 
first plumage. From the similar experiments which we made on adult 
birds in “eclipse” it can equally be said that the injection produced no 
acceleration in the change of plumage. We do not consider that the retarda- 
tion is to be ascribed to any specific effect of the injection, but regard it 
merely as an example of the general effect on plumage which any slightly 
unfavourable or unusual circumstance may produce. In the bird the 
intravenous method of injection is impracticable; and we found that very 
dilute solutions introduced subcutaneously produce the same necrosing effect 
as stronger ones. We did not try repeated intraperitoneal injections, for we 
considered that these could scarcely fail to produce such changes in general 
health as would tend to retard the normal plumage change. But although 
these experiments are vitiated by the necrosis produced, it is difficult to 
believe that none of the material introduced reached the circulation, and 
they may be tentatively taken to show that the cortex of the adrenal 
gland does not contain any body which has the specific effect of stimulating 
the appearance of secondary sexual characters. 
We may turn now briefly to the local effects of cortical injection, 
although these are of small importance as compared with the original 
object we had in view. 
The local effect of injection of a salt extract of the sheep’s adrenal is very 
clearly shown by selecting the pectoral muscle for the site of experiment. 
A localised necrosis ensues, the necrotic tissue subsequently becoming 
encapsulated by new-formed granulation and fibrous tissue. 
A healthy mallard received 1 c.c. of a salt extract of the cortex of a sheep’s 
adrenals, deep in the substance of the left pectoral muscle, and another 
cubic centimetre into the loose fold of skin at the base of the right thigh. 
The bird was killed seven days afterwards. 
In the pectoral there was found a track of dry necrosed muscular tissue 
lying in a space about an inch in its longer diameter and bounded by a thin 
newly-formed fibrous capsule. 
