Evening star., 1924-08-09

World.
BERLIN, August 9.-Diplomatic re-
lations between Germany and Bull
garia are friendly and very simple, so
that the Bulgarian embassy here in
acting work-a most fortunate cir
cumstance, for it allows the Bull
garian Ambassador. DR.. Method Pop
off, ample time for scientific research.
So far his most important work has
been on the stimulation of the living
cell If the cell is brought into con-
tact with an agent having an affinity
with oxygen, there is. as DR.. Popoff
puts it, an acceleration of the "oxy-
disation" or breaking process. The
result is a kind of rejuvenation that
affects the cell during the whole
period of it's existence.
DR.. Popoff has carried out his ex-
periments with salts of magnesia,
senic, copper, potassium, mercury, ar
senic copper, with carbon monoxide
and dioxide, with alcoholS, aldehydes,
ketones and other chemicals to which
he attributes the qualities of a cell
reiuyenating or cell stimulating
agent. The results are of extraord-
mary interest and Importance.
Tests One-CelIed Organism.
One of his early experiments was
with the slipper animalcule tpara-
moecium caudatum), one-celled or
ganism, only just visible to the naked
eve and found abundantly in stagnant
water. He immersed a NUMBER OF
these creatures which he had breo
from a common parent in a 10 to 20
chloride from one to three minutes.
After subjecting them to this stim-
ulation" he rinsed them and put them
back into their normal surroundings.
The result was as follows:
BY way of control DR.. Popoff had
kept a number of unstimulated ami
mails born of the same parent as
those he had stimulated. A pair of
the full-grown controls gave birth
to PAP offspring. A pair that had been
stimulated for one minute gave birth
to 2,027 offspring, and a pair that had
been stimulated for two minutes to
S46. The stimulated cultures con-
tanned animals that were not only
more numerous but also lager than
the "control-cultures." DR.. Popoff
thus succeeded in producing animals
that were more prolific and had big
ger cells than normal types.
The fact that stimulation lasting
for more than a certain period Gin
the case of the slipper animalcule for
more than something between two
and three minutes) showed inferior
results proved that overstimulation was
possible, and further experiments with
animals and plants confirmed this.
DR. Popoff assumes that If the stim-
ulating agent is applied in excessive
quantities or for too long a time the
renewal of oxygen by means of the
lateral respiratory chains cannot take
place quickly enough SO that a kind
of asphyXiation sets in and vitality
is reduced.
Healing Human Wounds.
DR.. Popoff also experimental with
the Hydra viridis, small green ami
NAL, plainly visible to the naked eye
and very common in ponds and
bitches. He found that its injured
tentacles were replaced much more
vigorously when stimulated than
when left to heal by themselves.
Bulgarian Medical Corps on the Ma
cedonian front and applied his meth
DDS of stimulation to human wounds.
He had considerable success. He says
an English prisoner, a surgeon named
Armstrong, with whom he worked
rapidity with which the wounds
treated in this manner healed.
But the chief work of DR.. Popoff
has been on the stimulation of seeds.
He is experimenting on large scale
at Oranienburg, near Berlin. A num-
Der of his disciples and pupils are
also applying his methods lin Germany
and Bulgaria. azs;F 49,
In his estate at Oranien burg plots
of land sown with stimulated seeds
Cereals. fax. cabbages, turnips. etc.)
alternated with plots on which nor
NAL control crops are growing.
The difference between the two Is
very marked. The stimulated plants
are much bigger, stronger, and even
are also more numerous, showing
that of the seeds which would nor
mally fail to germinate some at
least are saved by stimulation.
Procedure Is Simple.
DIR. Popoff's experiments are so
far advanced that they can be- ap-
piled practically on a large scale.
The procedure is very simple. The
seeds have to be soaked for GER
tain number of hours in a weak
solution of one or more. of the chem
icals already mentioned, many of these
chemicals are very cheap. so that any
methods at a very small outlay and
with very little trouble
Good results can be obtained with
various solutions for different pc
riods Of time according to the char
acter of the seed (wheat three hours,
barley eight hours, rye three hours,
maize three and one-half hours, oats
ten hours, rape two hours, fax one
hour, hemp eighteen hours, clover
eight hours, and so on).
DR.. Popoff has been able to increase
the normal yield of wheat. barley,
rye maize. mlllet, vetches. turnips.
rice, tobacco,-etc., by. 20, 80, 40 or
even so per cent, or more. Tobacco
seeds stimulated for two hours or
five hours gave poor results. but those