138 



Scientific Proceedings (59). 



numbers the outcome is more unfavorable than from second 

 generation matings. Six such matings gave in 2 cases negative 

 results or early abortions, 1 litter of 2 stillborn young and 3 living 

 litters containing 5 animals, only 1 of which survived, 4 dying 

 soon after birth. 



Two of the four were completely eyeless, the eyeballs, optic 

 nerves, and chiasma being absent. There was an abortive 

 attempt at eyelid formation, a well-formed lachrymal gland and 

 the extrinsic eye muscles were present. These defects no doubt 

 result from injury inflicted upon the germ cells by the experi- 

 mental treatment. The parents of the anophthalmic guinea-pigs 

 just mentioned were untreated, the four grandparents were also 

 untreated but their great-grandfathers were all alcoholized and 

 their great-grandmothers were all normal animals. It thus ap- 

 pears that the injury received by the germ cells of the great- 

 grandfathers was responsible for the defective condition of their 

 descendants. Many of the defective young have normal maternal 

 ancestry and alcoholized paternal ancestors, the reverse being 

 also true. 



Although the descendants of alcoholized males seem to transmit 

 the defects through subsequent generations even more decidedly 

 than the offspring of treated females, yet it is peculiar to find 

 that in pairing Fi, second generation, animals with normal mates 

 if the male of the pair be Fi the resulting offspring are better and 

 more vigorous than when an Fi female is mated with a normal 

 male. Eleven matings of Fi males with normal females gave I 

 negative result, 1 stillborn litter of 2 young and 9 living litters of 

 11 young, 9 of which survived but later gave rise to defective 

 descendants. Fifteen matings of Fi females with normal males 

 gave 3 negative results, 1 stillborn litter of 2 young and 11 living 

 litters containing 20 young, only 3 of which survived; a result 

 many times more disastrous than that derived from the previous 

 combination. 



Since the direct action of the alcohol fumes on the cornea of 

 the eye finally renders many of the treated animals blind one might 

 imagine some connection between this and the defective eye 

 condition of the offspring and their descendants, yet such is 

 certainly not the case. The defective eyes of the descendants 



