No. 591] TRANSMISSION OF DEGENERACY 167 



The mortality of the male offspring is higher than that of 

 the female. This condition may probably be explained 

 on the same principles we have employed above. The 

 two sexes receive equal amounts of injured chromatin 

 from their alcoholized mother, but this injured chromatin 

 in the case of the female individuals is mixed with a 

 larger amount of normal chromatin from the father than 

 is the case with the male. The female combination of 

 equal amounts of good and bad chromatin gives rise to a 

 better product than the male combination of a larger 

 amount of modified chromatin with a smaller amount of 

 good. Therefore the records of the male offspring are 

 inferior to those of the female offspring. 



The female combination, ovum and spermatozoon with 

 equal amounts of chromatin, good and bad, is proportion- 

 ately less injured than the male combination, ovum with 

 a larger amount of bad and spermatozoon with a smaller 

 amount of normal chromatin. The diagram represents 

 the black X chromosomes equal in size passing to the 

 daughters and the sons to be combined with the large 

 white normal X in the case of the daughters and with the 

 small white normal Y in the case of the sons. 



Again the descendants from heterogeneous matings of 

 these males and females prove that there is an actual 

 difference in quality. The descendants from the sons of 

 alcoholic mothers show a slightly higher mortality and a 

 much greater proportion of deformities than are found 

 among the descendants of their daughters. 



We believe that these results actually show a difference 

 in response to the treatment on the part of the male- and 

 female-producing spermatozoa. Such a difference log- 

 ically follows the cytological differences in structure 

 which Wilson and others have so clearly demonstrated 

 during the past ten years. If this structural difference 

 is of any significance, as it surely must be, then such 

 physiological differences in behavior as are indicated m 

 our results should sooner or later be found. 



On such a basis as this the sex ratio in different classes 



