The Semi-weekly leader., 1922-02-25
WOMAN STUMPS
SCIENTISTS BY
DISCOVERIES
Experiments, Begun as Hobby,
Lead to Amazing Results.
GETS CRYSTALS LIKE RADIUM

S@AS Viii ObnLO ElNL IinDIOu1
Water Treated With Radioactive crys-
tails Causes Bread to Rise Without
Heast-StimuIatIno Effect Upon
Plants 10 Shown In Remarkable
Growth-other MarveIs Performed
In Experiments on Animal Life
Crystals Out Of Air.
The story told in book Just ar
rived from England, where it was late
ly published, Is Of a sort to please the
appetite for the marvellous that has
been developed In recent years under
the discovery Of radium and the con-
sequent succession Of revelations con-
corning the amazing possibilities of
radlO-activity. According to this
book, 1t Is again a woman who, quite
by accident, has made remarkable
discovery along these lines; It's nature
indicated by the title of the book, "a
New Activity" This woman, Sylves-
ter Baxter tells the Boston Transcript,
is a Mrs. Maud Dickinson, widow Of
the late 7. G. Dickinson. Mrs. Dickin-
son, although English by birth, was
brought up from infancy in Burling-
ton, la.
1t was In 1911 that Mrs. Dickinson
began to experiment, first as hobby,
with a view to finding perfect anti
septic for medical use. While travel
ing In the east Mrs. Dickinson had
been impressed by the healing, health
giving and preserving qualities of the
oriental essential oils. So she began
to investigate their therapeutic prop
critics. Her researches appear to have
been conducted along alchemistic
lines. Taking various organic oils
cinnamon, orange, lemon, pine, Law
ender, laurel, rosemary, violet, etc. to-
gether with the many rare Eastern
gums, "she found that by a certain
blending Of these, according to an
cient and traditional rites already
known to her from both the inspired
and the ancient Egyptian writings,
that she could produce an 'antiseptic
perfume Of exceptionally high thera-
peutic and germicidal value. To the
commercial development of this, and
many other hggienic preparations,
Mrs. Dickinson successfully gave her
attention for a year or so.
Crystals From Soap.
Late in 1913, while preparing an
"antiseptic medical cream SOAP" with
mixture of these oils, resins, etc.,
Mrs. Dickinson found certain minute
crystalline particles precipitated upon
the paper at the top Of the jar con-
tanning the compound. She thought
at first these were impurities acci-
dentally present. But on December
"a she examined them with some care
under a microscope. They were red
dish brown and glittered and scintil-
lated in the sunshine. Mrs. Dickin-
son, finding them apparently in some
"active" state, exclaimed "Radium !"
imagining from what she had heard
that radium so appeared.
Examining them carefully, and find
ing that the combination of oils and
gums contained no solid matter, hav-
ing been filtered several times, she
took the crystals to the head chemist
Of the Lendon chemical firm that had
specially obtained the oils, ETC., for
her from the East. He could not ac-
count for them, but said they remind
ed him of a kind of refined pitch
blende (the source Of radium). Next
she found that such minute, shining
crystals could be collected from blot
ting paper saturated with the
mixture. Advised to conduct some
fusing- she obtained from
the explosion" Of a closed retOrt
new, hard, translucent crystal like a
diamond. Obtaining other crystals by
different methods, 1t has been found
that they all have radioactive prop
critics.
Not being scientifically trained, Mrs.
Dickinson has pursued her investiga-
tions along empirical lines; hence she
has probably made less progress than
she would If she had given them into
the hands of competent scientists.
But for four years she kept to herself
the secret of her process. Although
she called her product "Organic Radi-
um," 1t was simply as a name in con-
trast to the inorganic substance called
radfum. From what is said Of Mrs.
Dickinson it would appear that 1t can
hardly be sordid motive that induced
secrecy as to her methods, but rather
k6n RI
sons, ITO do everything herself" 1t
Is related that she has always consid-
cred before any ideas Of fame or
wealth the sacred cause Of benefting
humanity. She has long desired to
show the world the way to cure can
Ger. Previous to her discovery she
was already known as an expert In
hygiene and Is the author of over fifty
different inventions in that line. After
having worked unaided for four years,
It Is announced that she has at last
placed her work in the hands of
scientific authority, so that the year
1917-1S is regarded as the close Of the
nrst period Of her researches.
Crystals Out Of the Air.
One of Mrs. Dickinson's theories is
that from one Of her radioactive
crystals in a sealed glass tube she can
collect others within the vicinity.
LIBERALIZATION Her explanation is
that the rays emitted by the crystals
qfter passing thrcugh the tube On
mixing with the atmosphere, con-
dense to a nucleus that absorbs mat
tor and organizes a CRYSTAL out of the