Evening star., 1939-06-15
Of Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study

IN fieId, Laboratory
And Study
By Thomas r. Henri.
The genius Of composers appears to
reach its greatest heights in the narrow
span of years between IS and 80, in
elusive.
Such was the finding Of a study re-
ported in the May issue of the Scientific
Monthly by Prof. Harvey G. Lehman,
psychologist. and Prof. De Forest w.
1ngerham Of the music faculty of Ohio
State University.
The conclusion is based on a statistical
analysis of the age of composition of the
grand operas, musical comedies, SYM
phonies, chamber music, vocal pieces,
ETC., which have survived and are most
appreciated by music lovers, as evidenced
by their continued performance and re-
production on records. In nearly every
class Of composition the creation Of the
enduring works falls within the same
age range.
There are, the report stresses, notable
exceptions. Enduring work in each class
has been produced at almost every age
from extreme youth to the borders Of
senility. But before IS, the curves show
clearly. musical creative genius has not
reached its full bloom and it begins to
drop away after 49, although an in
dividual may continue to compose for
two or three decades.
Profs. Lehman and Ingerham advance
no explanation of their findings
THE decrements in the age curves
are obviously the accompaniment OF
later maturity" they say. The study
does not reveal whether, for groups Of
composers, this decrement is the inev-
liable accompaniment of advance in
chronological age, nor does 1t reveal
specific causative factors. Solutions of
these problems may well attract the
best efforts of several generations of in
vestigators.
ITO some the above findings will per-
haps bring feeling of regret 1t is
possible that the quality of musical COM
position starts declining at such rela-
lively early age levels. The investiga-
tors obviously have had no choice but
to report what the evidence seems to
indicate"
This peak age of quality in musical
composition, they point out, seems to
come at slightly earlier age than the
peak for quantity. But beyond the
critical age span merit declines, regard
less of how hard the composer is working.
The electric fiatiron has come to the
aid OF the historian. 1t now is being
used at the National Archives for re-
habilitating ancient documents which
have been damaged by water or which
have faded and become wrinkled with
age.
The f1atirons we're first used for this
Job during the 1887 floods in the Ohio
Valley when thousands Of city, county,
State and Federal records were left in
a water-soaked condition. 1t was found
that the familiar tool Of the housewife,
simultaneously applying heat and pres
sure. dried out the papers completely.
removed wrinkles and restored the faded
inks. A surprising discovery was that
the ironer often made the writing or
printing on the records sharper and
more legible than it had been prior to
the flood damage.
The successful use Of the ironers in
the Ohio Valley suggested the use now
hnin V4oH Ia ~ {v,y LYoc III,
cording to the General Electric Co. Last
September, swhen New England was
swept by the hurricane, emergency calls
were sent out for ironers to save and
restore documents. At Providence after
the waters had subsidized banks and home
owners found that millions of dollars
worth Of negotiable securities and cur
rency were soaked and muddy. as were
wills, contracts and other papers in
safety deposit boxes. Every available
ironer in Providence was Communicated
for laundering purposes.
A new subspecies of flea, found on
the prairie dog and a potential carrier
of the dreaded bubonic plague, has just
been found by Public Health Service
entomologists.
The United States is far from being
absolutely protected from this dreaded
malady, the "black death" of the Middle
Ages, the Public Health Service doctors
say. Sporadic cases and minor epi-
denies have occurred ever since 1900.
The presence of the virus in the rodent
life of nine Western States has been
demonstrated.
Presumably this plague is identical
with that carried by fleas which infest
house rats and which were responsible
for the great epidemics of the 18th
century. The wild animals seldom come
into intimate contact with man or even
with the house rats Nevertheless in
California, Utah and Oregon more than
40 human cases OF plague have been at
tributed to contact with wild rodents
and bites Of their f1eas. Some of the wild
rodent parasites must be quite efficient
because they have been able to main
tain and spread the disease. Prairie
dogs are known to have been infected
with plague in the past but the exact
insect responsible is not known.
Cites Spain's Neutrality