visual difficulties. I am not an ophthalmologist, and brought no instruments to visualize the lenses of these's people's eyes. However, I learned that on one island about fifty per cent of the population is losing its vision. This does not come to me from one informant, but comes to me from three or four informants. One informant actually said that most of the adults were losing their vision. Sometimes it was occurring in children. This again does not seem to be concomitant with the blast or follow shortly on it. One would expect the cataract changes sooner if it was due to looking directly at the blasts, and I would not expect it in individuals unborn at the time of the blasts. This appears’ to be perhaps one of the most disabling disabilities on the island of Utrik, and if not for the apparent willingness of the island to take care of its own there would be many people on this island suffering by reason of their dimming sight. In a colder, crueler society these people would not be abdle to survive. The frequency of eye problems is complicated by also the notable frequency of diabetes. Diabetes is an acequate cause of cataracts, and older diabetics may develope Cataratcts. However I asked very carefully of those patients whom I saw with visual difficulties, -- I essume they had had cataracts some had been operated on and had cataract removal -- whether they were diabetic and I understand that while several were, just as many were not, and the diabetic explanation for all of the cataracts and loss of vision does not seem credible. Again this seems to be a radiation effect. - As another radiation effect there was a period of time when there were an unusual number of stillbirths or the birth of monstrosities. I have heard this called the year of the animal, although I understand be offensive to those women who bore such heard the particular phrase only from men used. ~It was the time when children were completely formed bodies, legs, ox deformed heads. this phrése to offspring and I and not commonly born with in- incompletely formed arms or This occurred late, and not in the nine months after a near-by explosion when one would expect radiation effects. Moreover it occurred in islands distant enough so that direct radiation effects governed