The effect of viscosity on the disintegration of liquid jets can be considered in two ways. First, viscous forces alter the basic flow: they form a boundary layer whose presence necessarily alters wave formation. Second, viscous forces can have a direct effect on the development of perturbations for a given velocity profile of the basic flow. In this case the study of stability must be based on the Navier-Stokes equations instead of the equations of an ideal fluid. This complicates analysis considerably. Available data [1] indicate that this influence is very minor in the case of moderately viscous fluids. It appears, therefore, that the principal role is played by changes in the velocity profile alone, and that the behavior of the perturbations is described by the equations of an ideal fluid.