THE PROBLEM
A great amount of work has been done on the influence of sex hormones on the adrenals of mammals but, unfortunately, their influence on the adrenals of birds has not received, a s yet, the attention they deserve. However, Miller and Riddle ( '39) have demonstrated that estrone stimulates the adrenals of the pigeon. Munro and Kosin ('40) observed that the adrenals of the female chicks were depressed due to treatment with estradiol o r estradiol dipropionate. Bates et al. ('40) did not obtain any enlargement of the adrenals of cockerels after injection of estrin. Breneman ('40) on the other hand, reported hypertrophy of the adrenals of cockerels after administration of diethylstilbestrol and depression due to treatment with testosterone propionate. There is a great deal of discrepancy in the literature dealing with the action of sex hormones on the adrenals of mammals. According to one group of workers, the female sex hormone stimulates the adrenals. A second group, on the other hand, emphasizes its depressing effect. Most of the workers, however, are in agreement with regard to the depressing action of the male sex hormone on the adrenals. Since Ingle ('42) and Burrows ('45) have given extensive bibliographic reviews on the mammalian Now a t the