[PAGE 1]
Éxpert Uses Polygraph

Your Plants May Be Perceptive

By Kon Shaffer

Washington Post Stalf Wrlter

Cleve Backster, 48, is a lie detector specialist who after years of tests and olservation. has coneiuded that plants percçive more than we might suspeet.

For instanee, Backster savs. plants are aware of pcople and sense their intentions, and react by sending out signais that ean be reeorded by a polygraph machine (lie detector).

, A plant in danger may go into its equivalent of human sàock, Backster says. On the . nther hand, he says a loved plant will prosper.

His work wilh plants, which has been dismissed as implausible by many area scientists, began in 1966, he reealled, when In a moment of diversion. he decided to hook polygraph electrodes to the leaves of an affice plant.

"Surprisingly, the contour lines on the charts were similar to typical reaelions of a huran," he said in an interview yesterday. Ie spoke to spiritualist-orienter groups in the metropolitan area Sunday and: Monday:

"I thought about testing its reactions and deciced to burn it with a match. At

Lhat very instant the recording pen bounced off the top of the chart.'.

Backster said his life lasn't been the same since.

"The inilial result indicated that plants have some sort of perceptive ability." ke saíd.

In subsequent tests, he said he found that plants enitted à straight line on the ehart, or went into "nonproductivity" when a certain botanist entered the roon. The botanist, he discovered, ccstroyed-.-plants in the course of her work.

After the botanist left, the plant wouid slowly recover and after 30 minutes would

CLEVE BACKSTER ... "loved plant prospers"

send qut norsual signais, he said:

Another test-showed that See PLANTS, CG, CoL 2 .

Baekster is the director of a New York polygraph school for law enforcement officials and has been working with lic detectors for 24 years. During the last six years, he has also been niaking 'polygraph studics of plants.

Article taken from Washington Post, 18 Apri1 1972, Section A and C.

Your Plants May Be Perceptive

PLANTS, From C1

a plant 'could "identify," with an exaggerated reaction on the graph, one man in a group of six who min. utes before had destroyed another plant in the room.

"I also found that whenever I talked about my offize plant, no matter what part of the country I was in, the plant would show a corresponding reaction on the charts, at exactly the same monent I was talking about it," Backster said.

Backster sald that these and other of the "thousands" of observations he has made "leads me to believe that plants have a sense of perception that goes beyond our basic five scuses."

He said he has found that a plant has an "attunement" with its owner and reacts to praise.

"When people go on vaca. tions," he said, "I often suggest they take along a picture of a plant and think about it." This insures its health, he say's.

Backster, who said he has received little crilicism from anyone about his theories, said that plant perception could someday be used to thwart airplane hijackers by keeping a plant at the gate to sense bad iatentions, Military personnel, he said, have suggested that a plant might be taken on patrols to tip off soldiers of impending . ambushes.

Backster said he reccives funds for his research from small grants and fror the profits of his sehcol.

. "Private organlzations, and the governmnent, too, don't want to sponsor research they think might wind up embarrassing to them," he said,

Area scientists contacted yesterday aid not equivocate when asked about Backster's findings.

Area scientists contacted yesterday did not equivocate when asked about Backster's findings.

"My dear sir, does this research seem reasonable to you?" asked an increduicus Dr. Robert Krauss, head of the botany depariment at. the University of Maryland.

Dr. Joseph Graham, àn agricultural administrator at the U:S. Department of Ag. riculture, said that the department conducts research only on high priority prob. Iems, and he did not think that lackster's findings would fall into that category.

"We can't say anything is impossible," he said, "but (what Backster suggests) secms highly improbable."