No. 590] TRANSMISSION OF DEGENERACY 73 



Influence of the Tkeatment on the Descendants of 

 Alcoholized Animals 



It may be well in the first place to consider the results 

 of the experiments from a general standpoint and then 

 to undertake an analysis of the reactions and conditions 

 presented in the several generations and from the several 

 lineal combinations. The records of the matings of the 

 alcoholized animals in various pairs, the control or 

 normal matings, and the matings of the ¥ x and F 2 gen- 

 erations, the children and grandchildren of the alcohol- 

 ized individuals are summarized in the general Table I. 

 This table gives a record of all the matings of the kinds 

 indicated up to July 1, 1915. A similar table was pub- 

 lished two years ago, when the number of animals con- 

 sidered was much smaller and the actual indications from 

 the results were less certain than now. On comparing 

 this table with the former one, however, it will be seen 

 that the continuation of the experiments has fully sub- 

 stantiated the results as previously recorded. The table 

 now si iows the records of 571 matings which produced 

 682 full-term young and 189 early abortions or negative 

 results. These numbers are now of considerable magni- 

 tude in spite of the fact that the experiment is conducted 

 on mammals which produce only small litters and breed 

 slowly as compared with lower animal forms. 



In the first horizontal line the record of pairing alco- 

 holized male guinea pigs with normal females is given. 

 This combination could only produce defective or sub- 

 normal young as a result of the injured male germ cells, 

 since the ova are normal and develop in a normal un- 

 treated mother. This then is the definite test of the in- 

 fluence of the alcohol treatment on the germ cells. 



Ninety such matings have in 37 cases given negative 

 results; that is, failures to conceive, or early abortions. 

 Thus 41 per cent, of the matings of such males were non- 

 productive, while less than 25 per cent, of normal mat- 

 J ngs under the same breeding conditions failed to produce 

 f ull-term litters. Ten stillborn litters, each consisting of 



