Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-26

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there is q tobacco plant Is feet tall,
with long slender leaves and fragrant crimson
blossoms.
Profs. A. r. Olson and Harper GoodSpeed
have made history with that plant. DR.. Arthur
c. Pillsbury, following In their footsteps, has
grown a thousand little things with purple
blossoms. They are also tobacco plants. but as
different from the giant specimen as dandelions
from q rose.
These scientists have been termed wizards
and their plants called miracles Their tech
nique, however. is amazingly simple. They work
entirely with X-rays. The odd plants nave
merely been X-rayed.
Scientists are constantly discovering new uses
for these rays. But until Profs. Olson and
Goodspeed began experimenting with piants'
nobody dreamed that X-rays might revolutaon-
ize agriculture. Now we know that X-rays can
accomplish in a few weeks what nature mas
been taking millions Of years to do. They can
speed up evolution until you get dizzy thinking
about It.
The gentlemen in California take a plant,
q common tobacco plant and x-ray its DudS.
The buds blossom as usual and go TO SEED.
And from the seeds grow the most ASTOUNDING
plants imaginable The same plant whose seeoS
produced the mammoth 15-footer also produced
dvarfs with varicoloFed blossoms and small
leaves. Giant and dwarf have gone to seed
and perpetuated their own strange qualities.
Nov, right On the face OF it, that may not
sound particularly exciting. Hardly any
body can get excited about a tobacco plant
But if you think moment, you win appreciate
the almost inconceivable possibilities Of this
great discovery.
II an x-rayed plant produces strange seed
lines. how about an x-rayed hen Matching O
new sort Of chicken?
How about x-rays producing a giant super
man?
The very idea is breath-taking. Animal life
responds, like plant life, to experiments Of al
kinds Dr. PilIsbury, to prove the contention,
gives his roses dose of strychnine. A good,
healthy rose gets the same dose as that gwen
a 15O-pound man. The effect is exactly the
same. Strychnine is a temporary stimulant.
The rose perks up, looks better and apparently
feels better.
Then the effect begins to wear OF. Next
day the poor rose looks terribly haggard and
withered and very old. Another dose OF
strychnine will pep it up again. After repeated
doses the drug has no effect. Another stimuli
liant must be used. People. as you proDaDly
know, respond in identical fashion to stTycn-
nine. The same thing is true with other slim
ulants.
TT is a positive fact" says DR.. Pllsbtuy,
'That plants and people react alike. have no
doubt that humans would react to X-rays In
the same fashion as plants.
But the experiment Is TOO dangerous we
have produced monsters in plant life ugly,
rnisshapen things without any virtue at all.
It is quite right TO destroy vile plant hfe But
what il we produced monstrous little human?
Obviously, we could not destroy 1t.
"The contemplation Of hSInan experiments Is
fraueht with horror. We mHstanever produce
that which we may not destroy. Work among
the plants is splendid. Experiments with lower
animals may even be encouraged But 1t would
be a monstrous sin to experiment with humans.
Roger W. Babson tells of an experiment with
hens eggs that were exposed to X-rays.
''The radiated eggs produced weird chickens, +"
saws Mr. Babson, creatures with the strangest
mutations Some Of them had no wings. 9th
ers had wings that dragged on the ground.
Some had peculiar long legs. Others had
etumps for legs. In some cases the mutations
were for the better and tended to create new
and improved species Of fowl"
The real miracle Of the discovery b the per-
petuation OF whatever new species may be ere
ated. The new tobacco plants VIII produce
plants like themselves. The deformed chickens