Evening star., 1941-06-10
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
By Thomas r. Henry.

A Central American plant reputed to
increase the flow of mothers milk as
much as rs per cent is being investigated
by the Pan-American Sanitary Bureau
here and the School of Pharmacy of
| Guatemala City.
When CorteZ conquered Mexico he
found highly developed empirical medi-
cine among the natives, much of which
was revealed for the first time two years
| ago with the publication of the so-called
Badianus manuscript, written in Span
ish by two Aztec converts. Three plants
were mentioned as "galactologues," or
milk stimulators chichilticXiuhtontli,
tohmiyoxihiutl and memeyaxiuhiutl.
The manuscript contained pictures of
the plants from which the general class,
but not the species, could be recognized.
There is no clue to the identity of the
first two, but memeyaXiuhiut, it has been
| ascertained from inquiries started by DR..
Aristides A. Mol, secretary of the PAN
American Scientific Bureau, was almost
certainly a plant, distantly related to
the rubber tree, which still grows wild
in the Guatemalan highlands. 1t is
known as ixbut. 1t is still used by ma
tives and to some extent. by Guatemalan
doctors to increase the flow of milk Of
wet nurses It's possibilities for increas-
ing the milk production of cattle or goats
have not been explored. The tradition
of its use has descended from Aztec and
Maya days There is practically nothing
to be found DR.. Moll found, in pharmacy
textbooks regarding its use.
1T is" the Pan-American Sanitary
Bureau reports, "a perennial plant which
grows at from 200 to 5000 feet altitude,
and may reach a height of II feet. The
whole plant secretes a sweet, WhitiSh
lateX tasting very much like mothers
milk. 1t was originally found in the
Peten region of Guatemala and is today
widely cultivated in stock-raising areas,
where it is regarded as first class pasture
for cattle In Guatemala it is used by
wet nurses to increase the flow of milk.
They drink an infusion of the leaves
four or five to a glass of boiling water
three times a day and say it increases
their flow of milk as much as IS per
cent. The process by which ixbut stimu-
lates the flow of milk and the efficacy
of its action have not yet been scien-
tifically determined and it is hoped that
the research of the school of pharmacy
will throw light on this
The Guatemalan scientists, DR.. Moll
reveals, already have made a careful
chemical analysis of the plant A prom
inent Guatemalan pharmacist replied to
the Sanitary Bureau QUESTIONABLE that
his own wife used the plant with good
results.
The worlds most complex 'brass
brain" now is calculating Uncle Sans
firing data.
This is the Bush analyZer, developed
at the Massachusetts, Institute of Tech
nology about 10 years ago by DR.. Vande-
Institution of Washington.
There are only about 10 such machines
in the world. One of them, much i'm
proved over the original, now is set up
at the Aberdeen Md Proving Grounds,
where much of the basic artillery ex-
perimentation is carried out. 1t is an
intricate and expensive machine which
fills large room and is able to solve
differential equations. extremely difficult
and time-consuming even for an expert
enced mathematician. 1t fills the place
of many computers.
This is only one of the noteworthy
contributions of American higher mathe-
maticS, generally unintelligible to the
layman. to the progress of national de-
fenSe, it is revealed by the Committee
on Preparedness of the American Mathe-
matical Society and the Mathematical
Association of America.
Prof. Norbert Weiner of Massachusetts
Tech is chief consultant for the COM
mittee on this branch of mathematics
and now is at work improving the ma
chine so that it will solve the far harder
class of problems known as partial diff
ferential equations which enter into ar
tlllery practice, but must be computed in
the old-fashioned way with paper and
pencil or with the aid of ordinary cal
culating machines
At the same time there has been
named chief consultant on the science of
balliStics John Won Neumann of the In
stitute of Advanced Studies, Princeton,
N. j. The Government is maintaining
several experts in these fields both at
Aberdeen and the Navy Proving Ground
at Dahlgren, Va. These men are
charged with the proper design of guns
and projectiles, and with making tables
of firing data. The problem of bomb
sights also is referred to them
One of their interesting discoveries is
the close connection between the theory
of projectiles and that of high-speed
areoplanes. High-Speed projectiles move
at speed somewhat greater than that
of sound, while the maximum speed of
airplanes is nearly two-thirds that of
sound. The speed of sound is critical
for bodies moving in air. The tre-
mendouS resistance met at this speed
seems to indicate that the maximum We
locity at which planes can fly fast is
being approached. Such problems must