No. 563] EFFECT OF INTOXICATING MALE PARENT 675 



apparently most affected, and this is true also in embryos 

 developing in unfavorable environments. I have found 

 that fish embryos when developed in a large number of 

 unusual environments, including alcohol and ether, 

 always show marked abnormalities of the nervous sys- 

 tem and special sense organs, particularly of the eyes 

 and ears. When chick embryos are subjected to similar 

 environmental conditions, it has been found in experi- 

 ments performed during the last two winters, that they 

 respond in a manner similar to the fish. Many chick 

 embryos show different degrees of cyclopia and the 

 degeneration or absence of one eye of the normal pair is 

 a common defect in the chick as it is in the fish where 

 many grades of monophthalmicum asymmetricum were 

 described in my communications on the subject. In this 

 connection the eyeless guinea-pig derived from untreated 

 animals that had an alcoholic father becomes of special 

 interest, and the general nervous symptoms, spasms, 

 epileptic-like seizures, etc., shown by animals of two 

 generations gain importance. 



All defects of the nature of those mentioned may be 

 considered as due to weakened development or develop- 

 mental arrest. Any environment which weakens or re- 

 tards the early stages of development will cause such 

 conditions. How, then, are they transmitted by the alco- 

 holic male, or by the untreated offspring of alcoholic 

 parentage ! 



When the animal is treated with alcohol, lead or almost 

 any poison for a long period of time, the poison acts to 

 weaken or injure all of the body tissues with which it 

 comes in contact through the circulation, the liver and 

 other glandular organs usually show the effects in par- 

 ticular. The reproductive glands are injured as well as 

 others and all the cells and tissues of such an organ are 

 below normal. When such a male animal is paired with 

 a normal female, the resulting offspring contains in every 

 cell of its body elements derived from the weak or injured 

 male pronucleus. Unless the vigor of the normal parent 



