Evening star., 1953-05-15
Prehistoric Mountains
LeftRo in Canada
Remnants Are the Oldest
Part of Our PIunet's Crust
By Thomos R. Henry

Remnants of billion-year-old buried
mountains are being found under the
great pre-C -Cambrian shield which covers
a great deal of Northern Canada and
extends in places into the United States.
This is one of the oldest parts of
the crust of the planet Its rocks were
formed, it is shown by radioactive
determinations, long before the first
known life appeared on earth, in the
so-called pre-Cambrian geological pc
riod.
Existence of the buried mountains
has been reported to the American
Geophyscial Unions Committee for the
Geological Study Of Continents by DR..
c. s. Beals of the Dominion Observa-
tory at Ottawa. The finding is based on
gravity studies during which approx.
mately 5000 observations were made.
Roots of Mountains.
These show, DIR. Beals says. large
beltlike areas Of alternating high and
low gravity, several hundred miles long
and so miles wide The observations
can be explained, he says, by the as
sumption of several very ancient noun
tain systems whose peaks long since
have disappeared but whose roots, like
those of felled trees, still are under
the rocks.
In geological time, it has not been
very long since the great ice cap OF the
last great ice age covered most OF this
land. One of the purposes of the in
tensive gravimetric survey was to de-
termine If, with the enormous load OF
the ice removed, the area is rising far
ther above sea level.
This would be expected. since rocks
are somewhat elastic. But no rising
trend could be established, DR.. Beals
reports, and whatever adjustment was
to be anticipated in the earth's crust
apparently already has taken place.
Life is basically an interaction OF
enzymes-subStances which initiate q
chemical process and permit it to be
carried out, but do not themselves take
part in it.
It now is believed that there are
many thousands of these engines.
Some of them are contained in every
living cell. There are, perhaps, an
equal number of anti-enzymes which
keep life reactions in balance.
The Agriculture Departments Bu-
reau of Chemistry, in cooperation with
the California Institute Of Technology.
has taken the first step in the SYSTEM
attic study of the entire engine system
of plants where the substances have
very similar functions as in animals.
. Imbalances Studied.
The Government chemists are es-
pecially interested in what happens
when the engines and anti-enzymes
get out Of balance after a plant Is
harvested. Such an imbalance, for
example, is responsible for the ripening
of certain fruits, especially the avocado,
after picking. 1t is also responsible for
the softening Of an apple. regarded as
undesirable. Such reactions also are
responsible for the browning" OF
various foods when kept in storage.
which usually means that they are
losing some Of their proteins and
sugars and are declining In nutritive
value.
They are determining the process. 1t
has Just been announced, by which
starches and sugars are broken down
and burned by combination with oxy-
gen in plants. These are the fuel for
the fire Of life, in plants as well as
animals. So far as animals are con-
cerned, the process has been intensively
studied and is fairly well known.
Plants seemed to lack the four en-
zymes required for the process and
some felt that nature had set up two
"f1re-kindling schemes" in nature. But
the four essential engines now have
been found in plant tissue. according
to the Agriculture Department an
nollncement.