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THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. XLVII 



Bertholet concluded that the atrophy he observed was 

 not due to old age, cirrhosis of the liver, or other systemic 

 conditions, but to the effects of chronic alcoholism on the 

 reproductive glands. Weichselbaum has confirmed the 

 observations of Bertholet. 



It is certain, however, that the chronic alcoholic is not 

 so often rendered sterile as Bertholet 's study would lead 

 one to believe. It is not rare to find alcoholics with large 

 families. My experiments on mammals may not be of 

 sufficient duration at the present time, yet I have male 

 guinea-pigs that have been almost intoxicated on alcohol 

 once per day for six days a week for a period of 32 

 months, which are still good breeders. Thirty-two 

 months of a guinea-pig's existence is proportionately 

 equal to a good fraction of a human life. A number of 

 these animals have been killed and their testicles exam- 

 ined microscopically and found to be normal. In some 

 cases where the male had failed to succeed in impreg- 

 nating the female for several times, one of his testicles 

 was removed and studied microscopically; the testicle 

 was found to be normal and the male later gave offspring 

 by other females. Ovaries have been similarly examined 

 and in no case has the alcoholic treatment caused a 

 visible structural change in the reproductive glands. 

 The actual physiological proof of the efficiency of the 

 organs is shown by the ability of the animals to repro- 

 duce. Although there is no visible structural change in 

 the germ cells, nevertheless, they have been modified by 

 the treatment to an extent sufficient to cause them in most 

 cases to give rise to defective embryos or weakened indi- 

 viduals which die soon after birth. 



Nicloux has carefully demonstrated on dogs and 

 guinea-pigs the passage of alcohol from the blood of the 

 mother into the tissues of the embryo. After a short 

 time the amount of alcohol in the blood of the fetus is 

 about equal to that in the blood of the mother, while 

 there is really slightly more alcohol in a given weight of 

 the tissues of the fetus than is to be found in an equal 



