The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1914-06-12
RAD|UM As CURATIVE
Long Known to Possess Great
Remedial Powers.
English Scientist Says South Ameri-
can Natives Heard of II Many Years
Aqo-Used, in Many Cases,
10 Heal Wounds.

London.--An English scientist, T.
Thorne Baker. has just published some
interesting data regarding radium and
its curative effects.
Radium, says Mr.. Baker. has been
Z thing of extreme fascination to the
scientist, while the general public have
regarded it with mild curiosity. But
its recent effects in the treatment of
cancer have made it a thing Of alb
sorbing interest TO the whole world
There are various sources for OBJ
tanning Tad.um, for IL occurs always
in 1Aed proportion with the metal
uranium Wherever We find uranium
we are sure to find the one-three-mil-
lionth part of radium with it, Pitch
blendo is the richest mineral, but GER
tain other substances, as autunite. tor
benite and carnOtite, contain small
quantities OF uranium, and it is from
these three poorer minerals that the
future supply Of radium viii very
largely come. unless, Of course, unfore-
seen fresh supplies Of pitchblende are
discovered.
The chemist finds himself with one
ton of ore, and he knows by measure
ment with delicate instruments that it
contains about ten miligrams, or less
than the sixth part OF q grain, Of ra-
dium! Imagine trying to extract a
rni n ,f hi IN, try, f,P
solid rock! But modern chemistry, to
which the name Of radio-chemistry has
now been given, has enabled this prob
lem to be solved with such complete
DDS hardly any of this single grain is
lost during the tedious and long proc
ess of extraction.
The result is that some months later
nearly the whole of the priceless Erain
of radium is extracted IN an almost
pure state and It's purity can De meas
ured against a special standard sanpI9
prepared by Nine. Curie, which is kept
jealousy guarded at the international
bureau Of weights and measures at
Seves, near Paris This standard
sample Of pure radium chloride con
tains nearly twenty-five milljgrams
sealed up in thin glass tube, and
three other International standards
are kept at the Academy of Science III
| Vienna.
1t is quite a common thing whou
buying a large quantity Of radium bg
this is meant grain or two--to bus
it on condition that its purity be first
tested against one or other Of the in
ternatonal standard specimens,
Radium water is being largely tried
now in the treatment not only of can
GER but of various rheumatic and
| equity troubles, and this water CON
gsts Of ordinary water charged with
the gas given off by raIium and known
as "emauation." If some radum salt
be dissolved in water and left in q
| sealed vessel in about a month thg
"emanatiOn" gas which il produces
can be expelled by boiling and passed
into water, which then possesses radio.
active qualities. This "emanation wa,
ter" only retains its activity for a
short time, and in less than four days
has become impoverished to less than
half its original value
At the radium institute two lots OF
radium are kept continually in use for
l. In
resting, so to speak, for its month, the
other has produced enough water to 60
on with for this month. One way
Of overcoming the difficulty Of the les
SEEMING effects is to increase the dose
day by day, so that il you we're t.
start today taking doses Of a table
spoonful on the fourth day you wouiC
take two tablespoonfuls. and so on
But after the fourth day the radio
| activity djminishe5 so rapidly that the
water is Of little more use and fresi
must be secured.
This is the reason that spring wa
ters, which may give beneficial results
on account of containing radio-actiyity
must be drunk at the spring, for /
bottled and drunk perhaps weeks aft
erward the radioactive propertie
have vanished.
Many years ago the natives in som,
South American district used to cove
their wounds with dust which they &c
In the neighborhood made with waite
into a kind Of pouitice, and recently /
was discovered that there was radiuu
in the locality, SO that years ago. quite
ignorantly, the curative effects of IA
dunn were already being employed
The residues obtained after oil thu
radium has been extracted still con
tain minute traces OF radio-acliyit
and are used a good deal on the con
tlnent for 9lasters and baths. One o
the uses to which they are most ljkei,
to be put, however, in the future il
the accelcraGon Of the growth o
crops. Thorne Baker described re
Gently at the Royal Society Of Arts eX
periments in which he had obtainet
100 per cent increase in weight in rad
ishes and the surveyor to the boar
of agriculture at Truro, MI Hender
son. repeated these experiments with
in one case, even better results.
| Acmd CnuniA Wed