The Wyandotte herald. (Wyandotte, Mich.) 1879-1943, 1939-03-31
Try to Conquer
/. Vests Deserts
Three-Year Test to Be Made
Of Feasibility of
Certain Crops.

PHOENIX.-An attempt is to be
made to conquer the arid deserts OF
The West, long symbol of waste.
BY making them yield products nee
essary for human welfare.
As q result DR.. J. J. Thornber,
professor of botany at the Univer-
sity of Arizona, will know In three
years If il is possible to bring the
desert under control and make it q
boon to humanity. DR.. Thornber
said the university will begin next
spring to cultivate desert plants
with the object of developing them
to point where they can be raised
10 commercial quantities for their
products-which include medicines,
rubber and fiber.
IT feel quite sure the desert Is
going to be Of economic value to
man instead of waste" DR.. Thorn
Der said, but it will take at least
three years before we know how
successful the experiments will be-"
Rubber Plant Prominent.
The scientist said that If it is
found that plants can be grown COM
mercially the acreage needed for
the Guayle plant alone will be tire
mendous. The Guayle plant pro-
duces rubber.
1.-The experimentation will be done
on the university farm at Tucson,
although work on the milk-weed
plant, also a rubber producer, may
have to be carried to Yuma, where
il is not so cold in the winter"
A sample box of number of the
plants was sent to Secretary of Ag-
riculture Henry A. Wallace IN Wash
ington and the government was in
terested enough TO send two investi-
gators to look into the possibilities
of establishing a laboratory for fur
ther experiments. The government
report has not yet been made avail
able.
First work of the experiment will
consist of growing seven plants, sew
eral of which are believed to have
medicinal properties.
The canaigre plant, which has a
high percentage of tanin, is used In
the tanning of fine leather, although
it is too expensive for cheaper leath-
erS.
The yucca plant, with its 6brous
leaves, may prove to be very valu-
able if the fiber quality stands up
under the intense cultivation, DR..
Thornber said.
Try Seeds and Cuttings.
The third plant TO be cultivated
is the guayule, which is abundant
In southern Arizona.
1--WE intend to plant both seeds
and cuttings from these plants and
experiment on their cultivation" he
said. They are becoming increas-
ingly important as a possible
source of rubber supply for this
country. When first discovered, the
plant contained only about or per
cent rubber in its stalk, but now
after cultivation and care, plants
can be produced that contain % to
Is per cent rubber.
lone of our important jobs will be
to determine if Indian wheat, whose
seed is Identical insofar as medici-
nal properties are concerned to psyl-
ium, can be grown in commercial
quantities. We already know how TO
gather II mechanically in clean
condition and We have been as
sured that tons of the seed could be
used if a steady source is found"
Another species of milkweed, DR..
Thornber said, has medicinal quail
ties which the Indians say counter
acts poison snake and insect bites.
One company is now experiment.
ing to determine what chemical in
the plant acts upon snake venom.
Another plant produces the jojoba,
similar to the coffee bean. It can
be used for making perfume