Evening star., 1950-03-22
Gold and Silver Reported
Extracted From Trees
Exploitation Held Unlikely
Due to High Cost, Low Yield
By Thomos R. Henry


They might even become farm crops,
although this is highly improbable at
their present values because the yield
is SO small.
Extracting of appreciable amounts Of
the precious minerals from vegetation
has been reported to the Geological
Society Of America by Drs. Harry V.
Warren and Robert E. Delavault of the
University of British Columbia.
BY far the best gold CROP" they found,
was the common horsetail of marshes all
over the world. Appreciable amounts
also were found in Douglas fir. dwarf
juniper. lodgepole pine, aspen and will
low. The percentage was about as great
as that found in sea water, the exploita-
tion of which for its gold content often
has been proposed but never attempted
commercially because OF the small yields
and rather high costs.
Tests Made In Canada-
Drs. Warren and Delayault analyzed
the gold content of the trees in an area
of British Columbia where there were
many gold veinlets In the rocks but
where mining operations were unprofi-
table and where panning Of river sands
yielded only negligible amounts
The trees. they found, contained about
.07 of part per million. The real gold
bearers were the horsetails with an
average of 02 parts per million. This
was in locations known to contain min
ute amounts of gold. Where no gold
was obtainable from soil or rock samples
there was none in the trees.
Silver was quite different Minute
amounts were found even in areas where
there was not the slightest trace in soil
or rocks.
All the samples were taken from more
than 5000 feet above sea level.
The plant organism evidently absorbs
both precious metals from the soil in
its growth process, but is much more
avid for silver.
We have been asked by many persons
whether we expect to recover gold from
our forests" the two Canadian scientists
say. Our forests, like the oceans, do
contain measurable amounts, but like
the oceans, they are not liable to be
exploited commercially in the foreseeable
future"
Getting lost In space is the primary
symptom of neW-found mental disease.
1t is described in the Quarterly Review
OF Psychiatry and Neurology issued here
in an account of the work of DR.. Morris
Bender and his associates of the New
York University College of Medicine.
The malady is alleSthesia, and the
model case is that of Swear old car
penter who developed the alarming SYM
toms after serious surgical operation.
He was unable to tell his front from his
back and would put on his pants upside
down.
All Sounds Twisted.
He had difficulty in localizing any,
thing within visible space. Hearing was
just as bad All sounds from above be-
hind or to the right appeared to be COM
ing from the left. When he walked, he
always turned to the left-a tendency
quite marked in persons lost in the
Southern Hemisphere. Parts of his body
in the midline could be located, but he
had difficulty with paired structures
such as arms, legs, eyes or ears. Gener-
ally. for example. he would locate his
right arm on the left side. He was un-
able to distinguish right from left, with
regard to objects in space and was unable
to comprehend upward, downward, for
ward and backward
Still. the report points out, the mans
total personality structure remained in
tact. although there was some loss in
basic intelligence. The malady is de-
scribed as apparently diffuse disorder
OF the whole brain. effecting especially
the pyramidal tracts. the nerve fiber
bundles connecting the top OF the brain
with lower centers
The man suffered considerable defect
in memory. both for recent and remote
events and there was considerable emo
tional instability.