LIFE'S SECRETS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 31, 31 October 1907, Page 5

LIFE'S SECRETS.

PRYING EYES AT VICTORIA COLLEGE,

GREAT PROBLEMS UNDER A MICROSCOPE. •;

Wo are, perhaps, inclined to underestimate tho standard of tho work of research dono at tbo Victoria Collcgo.' Wo regard tho place, liordoufct, as one of great educational valuovirpjaco whero' trigonometry and law and botany arid...'maledorous chemistry ,and /other •tangled,fangletl- fads are dabbled in, and iwhoro 'gradates from -Wellington,•• Nelson,. /.Napier; and other parts" of .the"Dominion get their caps.; • : Epmothing More.It is certainly 'this. Wo cravo. the pardon of ;the.Uhivorsity:stiidents.and '"profs." for saying. sp. , But;itvis'moro. . It.lis a place where; great' achievements of tho future aro incubated. The learners' of law will be our legislators a few yeara hence. ..The' budding' stridoijts, of biology may bo :,New.Zealand "Darwjps," dostined.to hurl somo new revolution-ary-theory as : to tho foundation of things ac; 'ros?'the'scientific .-world. Anii'as' to chemistry, air is' full of possibilities. l , The alchemist who is ,to convert, a carbo-hydrate/into gold, or, ; gold, into radium, or, clay;into,rock phos-. phafcp/ may qome ; from Victoria; College, -ICor. .that/; man .the.-farmers of ;JNew. Zealand, are topMiSi a>?d the collegiate studies are stronu,ously strainin'2 in' that' direction. Ths Sceno. i . Let us record a .visit, to this'noble, raw, unfinished edifice; this' practical place that boasts its poet; this scone. of rudely exposed internal-Morgans, intricate .-.costly,, apparatuses, and makeshift..appliances that cost!nothing; this atmosphere. of, crude /curiosity, , vile siijolls, and,aftprndon,' teas. .The variety is charming., , . ..- ' / / i,. '' . Students Uncier Focus/ 1 v Wo. arriyed at 6 p.m. Some students'were busjj'at-their, studies/' but mbrb.wero starting homewards ; for' tea ■ having '• ■ too loiig aire ady at '.'their f a'scinat'ing • rosearchcs. : o ii ps were here 'arid there d i stributed in the 1 i b r a ry rooms absorb ing t . h c. p.e ar l.e u., b u,/. ... Jhc,. more practical, was endeavouring to divest a rab : - bit of-its [skiii,'whicfi ; w'as reluctant to' part. Hq rail -dissect .'prqfeently, arid,, with 'delicate-' edited . instruments, follow up j tho cotir.se of ■i ts blood circulation, the/ roticuliitioii of its, nerves, pr'.-thci lie 'of.;it^'obscnr.6.gla'nds; Lopkingfor Inspiration. '• ! ' j' 'An iinspiration may*, reach-him that will help the.farmers'.in their '.crusade, againt the rabbit,'.pest,'' or. throw.'a:.new'lijj/lit' off the.'protecr tion of us poor At •Rresgnt .ho: .is. .just, /'skinning/his, rabbit, ,'jwitharms-/ bared arid coat removed. Others' havo trod .'tho $(ime that. . is ; -going, iiavc ; . Watched the 'sanio nerve- spasms, traced tlip $aln/e "blood; channels. .Will' he i; find. anything where .they'failed;?;/.. ./ .

;The'Faiir/Sex.. . 'i At Mi' adjoining. tablo.U3i.a.'.,fair young lady, :ho*tNana6mio';' i but' comciy, : 'npt' goggle-eyed, as :.fou.'mmht havo.cxpectcd to.and a female,scientist, Kiit with a countenance unencumbered, 'frank; • Oneeye* however, was'glucdto the end of a micro--5e0p0,-and her ■.'application..',fas' intense. She Was,'no doubt,y'aupromety liappy, : fc» V: ,shb wall jeadirig' secrets—secrets jjbcijt.. tho internal • cccinomy of , perhaps; day. she .will be,known,as'tho''famousauthority-, on .b.ubonic, plaguo. ■■■■Thero- were, many Others, toibcispo'n/around/lier.cqiially.-studious, oqually , happy,, equally fascinated' and fasci-we-mu'st noMewour gaze -linger. to 6 |longfon : 'tlie' ladies ; ; -their 'stu- • dies.' , 'Jsv'i'VCit 3 H Kqityi";'•. M'- .•>•••<11 The siciai Lifo.,.' ' Wo. mount enter room,.,or.:poet's, attic, whoro 'undergraduates' relax'j.on soft chairs land 'couches, - or,' muse dreamily,'as they look'down oil tli6.white winding: 7road;,fpr ' below,, pr: ! 'ovcr. ; -tho uKelburne '•JJccroa'tipn Ground • 'and'i.onutho liar-'. hour.-: vio\y. "'•It 1 ' is hore that. tho : poets develop. ' Glose by ■ is:tho<tea'rooiu, an; institution 1 :cpctf«i : liar " to ./-Victoria 1 College.; 'ijlndoddi' the social, life, the comradeship,- the »8T»o?of mutu'Al intoi'est,':'the'lacic 'of strained, ' frigid,severity mark the Victoria College abruptly. pif from-tho other, colleges, in tho Dominion' Tho student of the' premier honours : collogo iiv'Ncw'-Zealand l dpesli't worry;>. Stndents:nnd professors and- visiting : friends, drop in'/at this'tea room;between-3.3o'and 7 p:nil-j' and take tea at-neat littip tables, pay-the six--;'po))ce-i or' 'whatever' charge their' app'otite has' 1 ' invoked' thorn-in, ! and ;pass''down : to resume' 1 tijeir■'"studies, ;: ■• ■■■ •,.■ •, Sharp. Contrasts, !• .Even iti tljis.room.the charming contrast? ex'i^.T'!^bvwhitb:'Hftle,tibleß a'ro set amid raw! : brick walls' .in' which' even. , th'e.' mortar is ; . riot; 'pointed.'' ''". Overhead. a ventral, view' of:the' slates of the. roof is afforctcd,'and a.'groat assemblage of strangei .'pipes,' whioh; wind, up through''the' raft'ors, lets'yiiu ', li.npw that the rooms below aro'.- ventilated. You would.call theipla'ce a'dismal:yaujt. hut it'lias no horrors for those, who labour 1 at Victoria College; They aro a.people who.have souls above codings and wall '..papers ;• indeed they appear somewhat! attached, to, thcr honest rp,ugliness. of ...their surroundings. .....

The ESSS; ', ' ' ; ..'.Wc'-were • .fortunate'."on • • this 1 evening;' for: there dropped in to ten no Jess than' three' of |t]ie professors and the Government ■Prbfessors -Kirk, . Easterlield, rand vori Zed;lit,!s, -arid.'-Mr. '■ Astoria.< W'hiid og(*s for tea, and wo 1 felt quite sure they^Fcro^frcsh::.-But Ve'had 110 ;soon'er turned thd einpty eggshell |tipsid6 J 'down•aOd.erackcd'the sm'all end in-tho-'orthodox-'fashion than' Professor -Kirk isaid' (with gleeful ominonsneis:—;[ f!' ! r l "Come ; and see tho' history of the oggß.M -:' I ' Wo wont. He opened a small tin box Under : wh'iohi gasjets burned,' arid nointcdeto'■ tho '■ interior. ' . , " Will there be Cake To-morrow? ' >; '. It \fras," ih' ; fact, an inciihator. i; ''Only oho egg "remained, and this 'the professor' re'-' 1 inoved, in order to see, as he said, whether there would. be eakc; to-morrow, or not. ■ "If," Ho'observed,"as ho prepared to'crack the shell, it contains a chick, it will be valuable to «s iii our studies. But if " j Crhck I Crack:! It contained no chick. , ! "Tlierp will . The .Chlck and .Evolution. • I A-lump of paraffin wax': Jyhig - near con-: tained ii dark spot embedded in it. This was the embryo' of a' previous egg.' It;"will be' peered 'at under a 'microscope' By ; many ;eyds,- : ' ' '' 'but before that can ;; be ' done ut' .ihtist ■ he sliced' ih- ; ; . to less than tissuei'papor ; thicknesses l "by an' instrument /called a 'mioi'o-' ' t'rimo. ."It is for' this reason that' ' it has' been omV bedded" in wax. One .of the interesting linos' of study presented by the embryo, of a fowl is tho development in' its early stages of gill archos—a cir-.' cumstance which, as wo shall see later, bag a suggestive bearing on the ovolution theory of our origin. Eggs, qven when>2s. 6d. a do'zon, 'are cheap as subjects for a scientist. Froggy. ■ Tho College, possesses over thirty microscopes—expensive treasured, which cost from

| iM'up'to £0* cach for the • ordinary 01103. I . Some, of rarer excellence, cost much inr.ro. Ono beauty was a present, and another known in MlO College as "the.court of appeal" in valued at £35. Under this ono was. placed a frog's brain, mounted 011 a glass blido in n series of several scores.. of sections. This arrangement. enabled , the whole of the brain substance to. be ox-, amined ' (in stages) minutoly,.. and: thq windings of capillaries and other structures to bo followed step by stop. It afforded a slow, sort- of kinematographic view of the brain substance. ' ■ 1 ..•.■■■■>. ; The Notochord as a Missing l.ink. , On'another slide was a section, showing a* frog's notochord—another light oil the evolution theory. The notochord is -an clastic substance declared by'scientists to be a precursor of the backbone. In some animals it remains always a 'notbehord. ; In -others' it gives place to a backbone, later. That, is , the case with human beings. "There was a time," said Professor Kirk, "when you and !l had no backbones, ' ' but only notocliords." 1 ' ■ . ■ .Difference .Immaterial. : ' ... Thus 'the microscope has shown us -'that' though lit the present time wo differ, somewhat from the frog' in external outlino, wp are brothers;in Having each possessed at ono tim'q of our existenco ; a notochord. .Apparently wo and other animals, resemble each Other more closely in the foetal -stage than in tho fullness of later development. Fossibly tho knowledge'of this-fact will not give, the farmer.-a'n'extra bushel of. wheat, to. tho acre or make all his-sheep;bear triplets,.but, as tho scientists say, "Who knows what may bo-the ultimate value to-morrow. of an apparently insignificant picce of knpwledgo gleaned to-day?."..'... . . .. ... • The Secret of. Reproduction. » The nuclpus of an animal cell is .an interest-ing-,pieca of..mechanism, under a microscope. We are'all made up: of .cells,'; just as plants, are; and; eacli'. cell contains a", nucleus or controlling .body differing, from the protopeasni' of the cell! The 'matter., gains in. interest .when- .we . discover that we , grow : simply by the division and multiplication of these cellsl Is not the, great-secret, of re-, production , wrapped'up in eacli'. of these tiny cc!ls? : ' '"■■'} v.; •>.: ■: '■ ~ Ceil EtruqUre. . " - ■ Let; us '.oxamino . through: a 'microscopc. one ; of. . these interesting , ■'niriial cell',, just like;.■ ..every .oho . of the . millions of cells which are cemented . together to form the subsfcapec which you call your arm. .-The cell, we. examine has been stained with an-aniline.dye, to mako-it m'oro visible: - Its. nucleus is ■, clearly, apparent. A.nd under!"the courtjof appeal" more'than, this is visible. This particular cell-is undergoing a strange procoss. Tits' nucleus is dividing into two parts. It w ' soon become elongated, constricted, and .finally separated into two distinct colls.

The Chromosomes. ' -The'nucleus is seen,;tc .contain a collection nf proininont deeply staining bands. Tlicsi jre chroinosoinpsi ' and- ' nomc wonderful thbbries'-havb beon : dbvoleped 'concerning themV : .-It ; is'< fpuiid that tho number:of chromosomes in. the nucleus'of a givon' cell of an pr&hisnv :;'s." th'o same' as- :tho- '.number. ; in. every other cell; in ;the same, organism. The number'differs with' different. organisms, but it;'n'cv'er varies (in' r hoalth>-j in tho-same organisih;;.lfj 'tlioreforb, tlioi qhroir.osomen.in one cell of a' certain'' organism' should be th'irl',v-tWo,vtbfey..will , :be:.thirty-two in every ptli.pr of.'its cells. ' ''' Tho Sexual Cd!s. . ,>.■.■ ..i. I fiiit" there is s'omothing ' more'"'wonderful.' fhKn',thi'r> : . The colls—the;'cells/which' taje'p '.part' iii producing \voiihg—contain, jrheh unfertilised;. on.ly'lialf tile nunibcKrdho-in '«• normal .c'clh lacking.Thecells are- waiting' for.' tlieir'-"better, halves'!"'. .iTortilisptioV'now occurs sperm cells* a?V.'inti;otluo«| fri>m : without and' (orlonvivaiting ends; The . spfcrnr cell's thorn-' ielrps - coiitain ' oiily half 'theiifl.rmh'l' number jf chromosomes,: but'tfliey ,'fuso egg Cells,' ,and ; . perfect: '.'cells, .with 'normalclirojiu»tit^,'..resjili;,'..': . Tho. Cancer Theory. ! 7- • ;; Vv ''" : 'v' 1 : ' i This process that the microscope 1 lias' rcvfl.alo.d' is .wonderful anjl interesting. ; It is also valuable,,:. It' is" niio 'of.those" 'insignificant, things to'rday. ud]icli..bccame valuable to-mpr-: row.' For cancer students observed that this change.,in tho numbejc of was.,exactly '\yhat toqii placp' ill. thpse; dibpr!;anisocl,. cells, >nf' pur-' "body"" which"; wo' call a- ; ,Th<y"' cbrompsprhes' of caiicorpus flesh. beebmo ■ ycduced in 'nuriiber— npt..a^v3ys.'cj;actly r tp:a half, but'-teiicling to assume that proportion.. ".. , . rind-tho Mates. ; . ' "v . ' 1 ■■ ; Hence, /a.'.V^.Uieory:'.' 'iias . been " forir.e'd that ... cancer is7,.tho. • .state : ''of •,tissue r.ot- up.,,' ) "the., cells. totake bna : oc thofirst; stepr,;.towards, thn act of saxually reproducing'thoiriselves. ' Thoy-aro looking for mates!,.. . If, this,, and thisi along, jio'. cancer,,..lot..us^ hope.'.'that' Victoria' .Collcgo will: produco the.man or woman Svho will find" the antidote to stop'tho!process, or the matc r bellytpT satisfy it,-and, thus re-cstablish ; ofder/ Accustomed a3 wo arc to . the hvay's of'orpanised beings, wo . .hare forgotten/tliq cs-" istencQi'of, thg cell unit. , And. the. cell unit apparently lias almost •" forgotten ',its % former 'power.-. it', possessed "'in. the ■'■I j,, "'old7: days^cf. 'fpilmyi'iig-■ :its' pW." 'individual bent'and reproducing ' "'off' its • own bato" 7 Cancer,,.if;.-the .theory, bo true,, is. ';ap exhibition of -Uiat "'process known as reversion to,an earlier type,,,but.a reversion far.me'r'o nolcntViliau,; tlio harmless-. revorjncin's->'.6r f'spprts" witli'.iwjuch oiir ' plant, ?nd' cittle-' jiroodors ;arG-/.to'-day so,, well' .acquainted. •

Saturday Night Medicine. Lot us turn?-to ■•lighter thoughts.— There on a bench is'a,'glass! tank'containing water arid some water weeds. It is covcrcd m 011 top as if thoro were some danger of something escaping. Fine tubes convey water to and from it to preserve ,th'e: contents pure. What is this prize that is so. guardedly imprisoned and so,. carefully and fed? It is a leech. There "'a'rp 'several of'them in the tank." Their'''yalu'e' ! ?4 They ■ are rtot'iworth' much 'nowacjays'. • a time when rollicking doctors ble'd.'their- patients profusely. by means'.'bf these loathsome little creatures 1 . past.' Doctors now—-if'"wo maj' :tfustf tho ovidence,of: thoir bnomies—bleed their patient's by other methods. Still,- the lijeoli is,not quite forgotten. It- is said that certain..chi)nnsts of the roioubtable city of -WolHiigt'oiv find an enquiry yet fjir good thirsty .leeches to reduce black eyes in the lato hours of Saturday nights. They are not needed forHhis piirposo l at Victoria. College,-but' they 'their place, in the studies. ; "rf-.W) ■■■ Ingenuity. •. ■ C-, Wo must;contrast'With ■'-.tho;/'magnificent microscppDS' tho. ! makeshifts'iwhicli one observes at the l aqunrium—"tllo'smallest acquar»um': it; In" "ono '' compartmontj about'' ■' Si'-- inches'-,!' cube, 7 ;■ -it; two' 'small; soft, -ired I ,'>■ .'fleshy creatureswhich wo call i blood-suckers when - ' we discover them attached to. rock's.. Water having to bo paid for by measure, the College lias applied' itself .to -economise!loir! tlid\ use of that commodity. Tho aquarium needed 10 have its water in 'a process "of constant renewal, and accomplished,by ingenious doviccs. A siniplo arrangement let three or four drops per minute fall into the smallest vessel,,and efficient drninagofwas provided to simultaneously remove an-equal volumo. Tho i-'ifliculty that such gentle measures would bo apt to drain; only, tho-.'mirfaco, arid loavo tho towor nioa unrenowedftwas ■ ovcr. r come by. tho use of a r pluiigor Worked . autori maticaliy from, another appliance\,clo.tc. hyj In*.this-other applianco a 'Untie supported as; on. a-pivot wan slowly filled by water, till the .weight of .itlio. water, caused:.it to' 1 swing" over and empty' itseit iwith'. a' splash"' into a vessel!below.- The violenco, of-courso,-' kept- tho water,inntho lower",vessel .-,well; disturbed, and its occupants nad always /good wntor to move in: ■ In swinging over,- the hottlo raised ■ tho plunser.. from, tho small vessel alongside, .and,-in righting itself,- lot

it down again -with auipkv violence. The "bottlo", was a broken lamp, chimnoy, corkcd at one end... .. ' ... . Control of Ssx. >'' "Is there any hope that "ex will be con-, trolled''?. - ..... It was a real farmer's question,' wc ndmii. raw, .mercenary, unscientific, with a ring of gold jingling in it. | But the Professor was not nnrendy to faco.it, ;mhl his answer held out- a glimmer of liopo that our dairy far,niors may yet bo able to get heifer cnlvcr order, and our egg.farmers pullets., Theories galore have been advanced, with or. without foundation, and there have also been dogmaß laid down that- the control J of-sox-idea is an absurd impossibility. But it is only wo unscientific people who regard every or any problem as settled. • ■ Not Hopeless.':. '.' . 1 Professor, Kirk ,observed!---.' i V 1 • . "There is some evidence that it 1 is a question* pf food supply. The sex of a frog is not (loterinmed'till after it. is born (ns a tadpole); and wc can make-it a male-or, a female at our pleasure—merely'by how we feed it. By feeding very young tadpoles fully, wo . caii ■produce noajly 100 per cent, of females, and .byfeeding- tbem-.jworly-•• wo• -can produce', an onormoiis p-')portion of males. The natural mforenc f-eni: this is that good feeding inproportions of- females born:" Something for Mothers. "In human beings the mother that imparts nourishment' freely to her offspring is'- more likely to'.bceoTTio the mother of females; and vico versa: i."(Those that have much to-do with the Maori observe that'in any district after, a period of -hard times it is 'quite a common thing to find that the greater proportion 'of the children subsequently born are males. • And after good times the - proportion of female births increases." We commend to the careful consideration of our dairymen and poultry-keepers this evidence that under high feeding Nature in'creases the proportion of females ■in - theyoung stock.'' The natural moral, therefore, if you want females, is "Feed well." When VVc wore Fishes. , A'- ,chicken 'in its early- infancy—at astage;- long;- before it is 'ready Ito leavo : ' the - shell —possesses a V notccliord, that- missing link (already referred -to) between ins and-tho 1 "other -animals.". It possesses, also, in tho-samo young stage, .'gill arches, which ally it to fish. A tadpole possesses gill arches. And you, also, reader, member of a, .-proud- and'*: powerful and thoughtful and superior race—you possess what wore gill arches. They arc only vestiges,'it is true; bat- they-wore-, nevertheless JCiU arches; and the fact that they are'but vestiges only heightens the .humiliation: ; Tho gill arc! ics are the.framework of the gills:of fish. , , . • "Us" in ths Good Old Times.

.The teaching of on this point, therefore, is- that •in "remote ages ourrespected lived in water, and opened and shut'their mouths afCbr 'tlic maiYher of 1 fishes;: and' propelled themselves by their tails. . Naturo, , howover, has not. . been wasteful .over these gills of ours. '.Some of their.. sho has used to make , the -. bones that stretch.from tho tympanic ~ membrane to , the • innerear. ... .... And ..'..our jaw.bones alsb ; wore gill; arches. " "Bones of. such Van arch,"'Nature has stowed away, in tho' tongue.' where., those..... people who!, 'arc' partialto' sheep's .tongue, may still find them. Thus 'we-'are brothers and. fair sisters' to the. jvoolly sheep. Tlieso tilings may bo seen in actual. fact'under the .microscope, in tho, dis-secting-rooms, 'in bottled; . preserves,- inmodels, and~in magic-lantern pictures, at tho victoria College. . .' I • ° A. Little l-iops. ! Among the many minds taht to tho investigation of these problems irf. that insi-.itution thqroiare no,doubt' some .who:aroistill anxi!ms r ,to.unfotter ;us from =: the,^stigma';,of. ;being f'sUVt.Q-f 13 ' forsqotji^fo^ls', and. sheep; We. may -therefore t-ake> courage' and hope.. -<lt-is,, however, against 'us that'tho l horse's toes have been discovered; and that we,' possess«a. --pituitary gland and; a/pineal body,; which all .tie us more tightly ■ to- our prc-historic* relationship's;"" : Scientists ' havo declared that tho pineal body is- the remains' of a former <up\vard-lookirig pair of:eyes/' Nitrogen Modules., t . "> | Wo; shudder at nil these thoughts, and ask about tho' : harmless, '■ useful aiitro'gen-gatbor-ing bacteria'.' These bacteria form 1 tho

minute: potato-like: swellings ;to be. seen on the roots of clover,'gorse, beans;'peas,' nnd other, Leguminosao, and gather the precious nitrogen from,the soil and'air. . They, do not,-.it. scorns, study.diseasc-firc-ducing microbes at the Victoria College, hut .the nodule •bacteria are not under--t h'i s ban. Some ■tubes' of; agnr< medium raised tho question of; cultures of these ' organisms;' and the reported :fniluro of the cotton - wool modo of distribution owing to tho organisms dying through dessication.: j . P r ofessor. irk, •••'obf' 'sorved thai they made cultures ,ox-. p orimen tally; at , tho College, but they had no needto keep them: in. .stock, cause,va student .wishing to.; work on tlieso bacteria could easily pull up a plant a n d bring it along to tho Col- | lege. From 1 i" ' i : i tha.t " plant they could inoculate. other. Loguminosao. | 'Of tho- same species .only {'V/No;.any. Lcguminosab.". , ; J'That. is oontrary,,to common belief, It

is supposed that a clover germ, for instance, will live only oij a . clover, plant." . Field for Study./'v) 1 "!; '■ .? "Our researches;" - saicl. Professor Kirk,, "do not support that view. It is by no' means certain that 'there arc many lioduleforming bacteria'. We have inoculated beans from clover nodules at this College." Tims, again, we "were reminded that it s not the sßicntisit, ; but only, the'inan •in the street, who regards every or any problem as settled. Victoria College can do our farmers a great service ip this matter. Will the" Col-' 'ege undertake, to prove to lis —assuming inoculation by. the ,nodule! organism: is desirable —whether it is. safe or uusafo to follow beans or peas with clover, or crimson clover with white, or even to rely wholly on the inoculation effected by . the gorso which we clear from our'lands?.

. Such services .as these would be appreciated, and would be gratefully remembered.