The Portland daily press., 1900-10-19
SCIENCES LATEST MAGIC.
DR.. Oscar LOeW's Investigation S
Of EnZimes.
A Discovery by Which He Homes TO
Conquer Virulent Diseases, Improve
the Tobacco Crop, Turn Poor Butter
Into Good and Let Every Farmer Be
His own Winemaker.

washington, October 16.-By thu recent
resignation Of DR.. Oscar Loew, the Agri-
cultural Department has lost one Of the
most noted scientists in it's employ. DR..
LoeW leaves to become lecturer on agri-
cultural chemistry in the Agricultural
College Of the japanese Imperial Uni
verslty at Toxic. He VIII receive a
salary OF $1,000 in addition to quarters In
the university and other perquisites.
DR. Loew's specially was the investiga-
ton Of what are known in organic chem
istry as enzime, a subtle species Of
liquid ferments that are neither microbes
nor fungi, but somewhat similar to both.
he found that certain Of these ferments
We're present at the eliminating stages OF
practically al the Yirulent diseases, and
thai it was the Development Of the enzime
in the system that checked the disease
and killed the microbes when a disease
like typhoid smallpox, OF yellow fever
had run its course. From this discovery
1t was but step to decide that If the
enzime could be introduced into the sys-
TEN OF a patient the disease would be
checked before 1t had run its course and
the patient have a much better chance
fer recovery
1t was a long and Infinitely patient in
vestigation that established this fact.
Dr. LoeW finally succeeded in selecting q
particular eDzime which, while not harm
ful to the human system, would dissolve
and kill the microbes OF yellow fever.
scarlet fever, typhoid, smallpox. bubonic
plague, diphtheri6, tetanus and other dis
eases. Like all other investigations OF
this sort the experiments had to be
made hrst in the laboratory test tubes,
then On the lower animals and finally on
human beings. In Japan Dr.. LoeW pro-
ICses to carry on extensive hospital ex-
perlments with the enzime before turning
the discovery over to the medical profess
sion at large. He hopes especially to try
it under practical working conditions on
large number Of plague patients.
Ihe work Dr LOew carried on at the
Agricultural Department in connection
WITH tobacco curing promises to be Of
great commercial advantage to this coun-
try, 1t has b5en known for a long time
that the critical stage in the curing OF
hlgh-grade tobacco came while the leaf
was passing through the period of fer
mentation, when by some method not
generally understood 1t developed tne
aroma and flavor that fixed its market
value Dr. LOeW found that this fer
mentatiOn was controlled by another
enzime, and that when the nature OF
the enzilne or ferment was understood it
would be possible to push or arrest It's
development almost as Photographic
plate can be weakened or intensified in
the dark room. The improvement OF the
tobacco output Of the country resulting
from this discovery would have an i'm
pOTtance hard to oVerestimate
Prof LOew was also engaged in similar
experiments with butter and cider. The
flavor Of butter is held to be- due not to
any excellence in the COW or its food.
but to the presence of certain enzimes.
1T was Or. lOeW 8 theory that he could
turn poor butter into high grade butter
BY introducing the proper enz1mes. Ex-
periments were also made with cider
wine, into which DR.. LOeW introduced
the enzimes which give to Kline wines
and other light wines their flavor. lie
procured from Germany some Of the fer
ment used in wine making and sought to
develop it so that the farmer could In
trOduce the enzimes into his cider barrel,
and later draw out a fine quality Of white
wine. Prof. Loew was conducting other
experim ents with wines, being convinced
that the superiority OF French wines over
American lay not in the soil or the
climate or methods employed, but in the
havOring enzimes which enter the casks
during fermentation.
These enzimes are not native to America
and can be secured only by importation.
This theory has been strengthened by
some OF the Western wine growers who
have secured enzimes from France, in
troduced them into their wine casks and
produced wines of much higher class
than formerly and scarcely distinguisha-
bic from the French product,
DR.. LoeW's work will be continued by
the other scientists at the Department,
and before long the United States may
be producing Cuban tobacco IN Connec-
ticut ana Kentucky, Elgin butter in
Maine and Texas, French champagnes in
California and Rhine wine in Michigan
and New York.