Evening star., 1952-10-03
Big Bird City Found
In Depths Of Arctic
Breeding Place of FuImors
Resembles Gothic Towers
By Thomos R. Henry

Finding OF great, inaccessible bird
CITY," with a population Of close to a
half million, in the depths of the Arctic
has been reported to the Arctic Institute
of North America.
Turreted like medieval castle, it is
the largest of four colonies of fulmars.
sea birds closely related to the albatross,
in eastern North America, according to
the report of Dr. V. c. Wynne-E Edwards.
Professor of Natural History at the Uni
versity of Aberdeen. Hitherto there
have been only vague references to the
fabulous spot at Cape Searle on the
Davis Strait coast of Baffln Land where
the strange birds congregate through
the Arctic summer.
"The cape itself where most Of the
fulmars nest" DR.. Wynne- Edwards re-
ports, "is totally inaccessible. Two huge
towers. the bigger of which we call the
keep because of its resemblance to a
Gothic tower, are some 1,400 feet high
and fall straight into the sea so that
there is access neither to the top nor
the foot.
Cliffs Look Orange-Red.
''The cliffs drop away on every side
with fantastic pinnacles and buttresseS.
all orange-red with bird cliff lichen.
Everywhere the fulmarS swarm like flies.
Still 1000 yards from the keep. We could
see the cloud of birds over the summit.
and away on either side far into the
distance. The summit was evidently
covered with luxurious vegetation. al
though so nigh and exposed and there
appeared to be an immense number
of nesting birds right on the fiat top.
There were nests at all heights almost
down to the cliff foot, but they were
everywhere much more numerous toward
the top.
1--WE could look into scores Of nests
relatively close at hand from our look
out. Each had gray, down-covered
chick half to two-thirds grown, although
not more than about is to 20 days old,
so fast is their rate of growth. We saw
a weasel precariously hunting the upper
most ledges. Ravens and white gyr-
falcons take considerable toll, although
the main towers must be inaccessible
to either foxes or WeaselS.
"An unknown proportion of the birds
present were no doubt minated or not
breeding.
Seven plants have considerable dam
aging effect against cancer-at least
against certain types which can be
investigated in mice.
This has been announced by Drs.
Morris Belkin and Dorothea B. Fitz-
gerald of the Public Health Services
National Cancer Institute.
Most notable effects were found with
injections of suspension in water of
powdered leaves of the bryony vine, an
Old World member of the cucumber
family. Notable effects also we're OBJ
tanned with dried Juice of aloe leaves,
leaves of the ringworm shrub. three
varieties of spurge. juice of the squirt
ing cucumber, buckthorn berries and
bark, and the common SOW thistle.
All these already have been used in
pharmacology. for treatment of other
conditions. The possibility that nature
itself may contain potent antagonists
of abnormal growths long has fasci-
mated experimenters. The present work
may be pointing in the direction of such
a discovery, although no actual curative
value is credited to any of the materials
described.
Cnem1cal Agents screened.
Interest in higher plants as uoten-
tial source of damaging agents."
reports DR.. Belkin, was stimulated
with the finding that colchicine. an
alkaloid derived from the autumn
crocus, was capable of producing re-
greSsion in tumors. More recently this
interest was given added point with the
demonstration that podophyllin, derived
from the May apple, was capable of in
flicting considerable damage on experi-
mental tumors."
A natural question is whether the
plants act specifically against cancer,
per sc, or whether they can be con-
Sidered systematic poisons In the latter
case the cancer merely would suffer with
the rest of the body. In fact, injections
of some of the materials did produce
prostration and death of the expert
mental animals.
But" says DR.. Belkin, "there were
about as many instances of equally toxic
materials which did not induce tumor
damage. as of induced damage &C
compamed py toxiclty. It would appear
that this factor could not have played
the determining role in the production
Of tumor death.
"Over 1000 chemical agents screened
in this laboratory were given at equally
toxic dose levels without showing tumor-
damaging potency"