Evening star., 1942-07-07
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
Bn Thomas r. Henrv.


By Thomas r. Henry.
Dead for thousand years, the ghost
Of the greatest of Arab physicians has
arisen to reveal the secrets Of his art
to the Army Medical Corps.
He was gentleman named Rhazes,
physician to several of the caliphs, one
of the boldest OF medical experimenters,
father Of experimental pharmacology. He
was intensely interested in poisons. A
millennium ago he was testing the effects
of measured doses of arsenic and other
lethal drugs on condemned criminals at
Bagdad few days before their sched-
uled executions.
He was specialist on diseases of the
stomach. Even now some of his treat
merts are being rediscovered and an
nounced in medical journals as triumphs
of Goth century medicine.
About year ago the Surgeon Generals
copy Of Rhazes' work on gastro-intestinal
complaints. 1t was written in medieval
Arabic and was very difficult to read.
The manuscript had been in the possess
sion OF a family living near Nedjf in
1raq for six centuries. Previously the
work had been known only in a badly
garbled Latin version.
A new translation now has been nearly
completed by DR.. c. F. Mayer OF the
library staff, who finds in it some sur
prising statements. Only few months
ago, for example, there was announced
from Germany an allegedly highly sue
cessful treatment for stomach ulcers
which consisted Of doses of finely pow-
dered aluminium. This was supposed to
seal off the ulcers in very thin, mobile
aluminium coats and protect them from
further irritation.
Rhazes, DR.. Mayer finds, was treating
the stomach ulcers of the caliphs in
essentially the same way. although alum
mum, as such, was not known in his day.
He was giving his royal patients finely
powdered clay. 1t did not kill the ex-
perimental criminals-at least not until
they were ready for the executioner,
anyway.
OF course, DR.. Mayer explains, modern
little OF present medical or military value
can be expected from his works. He
was, however, an expert on the medical
phases of desert fighting. 49,,
The Rhazes manuscript is the first of
collection of more than 500 in the files
Of the Surgeon Generals library to re-
ceive extensive study. It also is the
Oldest in point Of time. About 100 of
these were obtained year ago from a
travelling Islamic scholar. The rest have
come to Washington in various ways over
the past century and have remained
largely unexplored.
They have been collected, says DR..
Mayer, from all parts of the Orient,
from old patrician families Of Cairo,
Damascus, Aleppo, Bagdad, from private
mosques in Egypt, Palestine, Mesopo-
tamia, Turkey, Persia and India. Some
of them had been kept in cellars or in
hidden places in remote villages off the
beaten tracks. Some of them belonged to
ai-Sahawi, the most famous Arab poet
and philosopher of our time at Bagdad."
farms are stocking, as never before, the
larder of democracy.
About 100000 are making beef out
of the lush herbage of rain blessed
pastures. They are scheduled for
Slaughter during the year and there is
every indication that the goal will be
reached.
Indications are that about a million
more calves will be born this year than
last year.
The increase, Department of Agricul-
ture statisticians report, is due partly
to good ranges and to the highest price
level an 20 years. 1t Is also due, in
part, to the operation OF somewhat
mysterious cycle, probably due to
combination Of many causes, by which
cattle numbers tend to fluctuate from
low to high and back again over IS
years. The low point in the cycle was
reached in 1888 and the herds have
been building up ever since, even with
| out the added inducement of the war
| Now, together with the Nations hogs
| and sheep, it appears that the goal set
early in the year of about $4,000 ,000, 900
pounds of meat OF all sorts will be met.
A vast amount of this, especially the
beef, will be required to feed Americas
own soldiers, always known as very
heavy meat eaters. Meat demands al
ways rise when there is a notable in
crease in the Army and Navy. Thus
far only small amounts of beef, in con-
trast to pork products, have been pur-
chased for the lend-lease program.
Estimates Of the amounts of meat
that will be required for the armed
forces during the year are not at pres
ent available but, forecasting the future
as we'll as possible, the Agriculture De-
partment statisticians estimate that,
with the increased supplies, there need
be no reduction in the ordinary civilian
consumption.
American cattle have almost as big
job in keeping up with the greatly
expanded milk demand. Milk not only
Is an essential sinew of war. In its
evaporated and dried forms 1t consti-
tutes about the most compact means of
getting vital food elements to the Allied
nations.