Evening star., 1937-04-10
STARS, MEN AND ATOMS
Notebook of Science Progress in Field,
Laboratory and Study.
BY THOMAS r HENRY

A new disease with very high death
rate almost indistinguishable from tuber-
culosis in its manifestations, is reported
by the Public Health Service. This
malady is coccidoidal granuloma, caused
by fungus in the soil whose spores are
breathed into the lungs. There is also
evidence that a person may be infected
through the skin as the result of a cut
or scratch. Up to the present, the disease
has been almost localized in five counties
in California where the fungus has
obtained foothold in the soil
The first case was reported from Buenos
Aires in 1892 and two years later an
apparent but anomalous death from
tuberculosis was reported from California,
Since then the Public Health Service
reports, there have been $50 cases, with
224 deaths in that State. More than 300
of these cases were from the five coun-
ties. The chief victims are outdoor
laborers who come in close contact with
the soil. No transmission from man to
man, or from animal to man, ever has
been observed.
The fungus may attack any tissue of
the body, but has about the same order
Of preference as the tubercle bacillus
lungs, bones, nervous system and skin.
The great majority of the victims to
date have been men over Is years Of
age. All races are affected, but during
the past five years the number OF Fill
pinos attacked by it has doubled.
At present, the Public Health Service
report points out, coccidoidal granuloma
hardly offers health problem for the
public at large and the report is in the
f,,r of ,i,,rr off ho nf q
new and deadly malady in the country.
X X
In q rock -strewn, closely-grazed goat
pasture in Northern Turkey three years
ago H. L. Westover, plant explorer of
the Department of Agriculture, found
new kind of alfalfa-a form which crept
like a vine along the ground instead OF
growing upright. He obtained single
root. The pasture was far too closely
grazed to hope to obtain any seed
This creeping alfalfa now has been
successfully propagated by forage crop
specialists, who obtained nearly 5000
plants from the single root. Tested In
the arid, almost barren Nebraska sand
hills, this alfalfa developed strong root
system for binding the soil and greatly
increased the amount of pasturage. 1t
is poor seed producer and never grows
high enough for moving
X
Vaccination or incubation of plants
with mild forms of virus diseases to pre-
vent dangerous infections with severe
forms may become an important factor
in agriculture.
Until recently it was believed that the
only hope for immunity or resistance to
disease in plants was through the exist
ence of inherited characters which
would be emphasized by breeding Re
Gently, DR.. James Johnson of the Bureau
of Plant Industry of the Department of
Agriculture has announced that tobacco
plants recovering from tobacco streak, a
common plant virus disease, acquire
considerable degree of immunity against
new infection. The recovered plants,
however, remain carriers OF the infection
to healthy plants.
This offers the possibilities that plants
grown from root stocks, such as potatoes,
or from cuttings may be protected by
1mmunization of the planting stock.
Just around the corner is the "age OF
glass" Such is the prediction Of DR.. A.
r. Greaves- Miller, professor OF engineer
ing at the University of North Carolina,
in report just made public by the
American Chemical Society.
1--WE have records OF q stone age and