Maine Alumnus, Volume 32, Number 5, February 1951

The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine University of Maine Alumni Magazines University of Maine Publications 2-1951 Maine Alumnus, Volume 32, Number 5, February 1951 General Alumni Association, University of Maine Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/alumni_magazines Part of the Higher Education Commons, and the History Commons Recommended Citation General Alumni Association, University of Maine, "Maine Alumnus, Volume 32, Number 5, February 1951" (1951). University of Maine Alumni Magazines. 524. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/alumni_magazines/524 This publication is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Maine Alumni Magazines by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 3 Reproduct on From a Color Point Pirates To this day many believe that the Islands of Casco Bay have huge stores Some of thc crew -»rc supposed to have escaped to Jewell s Island with a of pirate treasure buried along their shores Names like Bold Dick Ledge Broken Cove David s Castle Burnt Coat or W.tch Rock stones still extant great chest of gold which they buried there of the infamous pirates Dixie Bull and Captain Kidd serve to whet the apoe Still another legend is of Captain Kidd who making into a cove on Jewell s tites of treasure seekers Island, buried a huge copocr kettle filled wi*h his choicest *rca*urc there One version has Kidd summarily executing thc sailors who helped bury thc One true story concerns Creat Walt Bagnall who gained much gold by treasure so that only he would know thc spot which he ria-ked with a flat hohrdna? prat,nsac a005! 7'^ thL lndians and 15 ’bought to have buned his stone on which he carved an inverted compass Ever •edav hopûl visitors he ehrMprf hwtn» S Saund WhSre hc',VCd until k,lled bT thc VCfy lndianS to thc Island seaich for a stone inscribed with a compas* po v & wu nf he cheated Whatever happened to Bagnall s fortune it .s a fact that in when the owner of Richmond s Island was plowing a field near the On Crotch <Cliff > Island lived ot one time a rcHjsc one Captain Kciff therLr«t"d°ani P°’ ,UrnCd UP contained gold and silver coms Since thought to be a smuggler and a pirate He had an unlovely huoit so thc this wH lift nt rI thHC01,ns was 1625 ,f maV be reasonably assumed that story goes of tying a lantern to his hor<e s neck during storms and riding rnis was part of Bagnall s loot up and down a beach lying behind treacherous reefs to lure passing ships to tneir destruction Many an unwary pilot steered his vessel onto the reefs Another story concerns a pirate ship that foundered on Brown Cow Ledge believing the light meant safe harbor Kciff then salvaged the cargoes and is thought to have waxed rich on this practice The Qanal Pfattonal Tank of Tort land 188 Middle Street Portland Me • 14 Congress Square Portland Me • 93 Main Street Yarmouth Me COMPLETE FINANCING. TRUST b BANKING * facilities Federal R,itr t Syitem — Member Fed,tai D,j>o>u In uram < Corporation * VoL 32 FEBRUARY, 1951 No 5 Entered’?! °f Orono> Ma,ne SubscriptionSJr?ce^Ww per ^w'^nduyedîn annual Îumn‘ Assoc’at*on> Business office, The Maine Alumnus. Entered as second class matter at the Post Office at Orono Marne, Lndir act of M«ch of 00 Member: American Alumni Counol RADIOACTIVE RESEARCH By Dr. Gilbert L. Terman Professor of Agronomy O million dollar cyclotron or glam intake into plants of elements made radio is formulated into a fertilizer material, orous atom-smashing equipment can active by artificial means This means such as ordinary superphosphate. In this be found on campus Rather has the Uni was the cyclotron, a highly expensive radiosuperphosphate, only a very small versity concerned itself in the field of machine used to induce 1 adioactivity into portion of the phosphorus atoms are radioactive elements to the unspectacular certain elements Because of the very radioactive, only about one in ten billion. but important study of radio isotopes in high cost, only a small amount of tracer But even with this infinitesimally small agriculture The research work which work was done until the atomic pile was amount, the Geiger counter used to has been going on quietly for the past made available for use at the end of measure the radioactivity is able to three years is of great value to New Eng W orld \\ ar II This development re measure accurately the amount of the land agriculture duced the cost of a unit (a millicurie) fertilizer applied that is used by the plant. ^mong the hundreds of uses found for of radioactive carbon from possibly After formulation of the fertilizer at radioactive elements in biology and medi $1,000,000 to $50 and made artificially Beltsville, the material is shipped to the cine, several are in the field of fertilizer radioactive elements generally available Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, research The use of these “tagged,” or for many ty pes of research where it is applied for growing potatoes “labelled” fertilizer “tracer” elements is and other crops. Except for using con one of the more recent advances in ferti Easily Induced siderable precautions with the radioactive lizer research in relation to crop growth material, the procedure of application is Although radioactivity can be induced no different than that of applying ordinary Ry use of radioactive tracer phosphorus in many elements, the length of time or other clement, we can observe where commercial fertilizer. Because of the much during which they remain radioactive the element goes in the plant and how it higher cost of the radioactive fertilizer, vaiits with the clement Phosphorus, for most of the experimental area is fertilized behaves Experiments with radioactive example, has a half-lite of 14 3 days, with similar ordinary fertilizer and only phosphorus and calcium are now being which is the length of time during which sufficient area to supply plant samples conducted by members of the Agronomy one-half of the original radioactivity is for chemical analyses and rough yield Department of the Maine \gncultural dissipated The length of time during estimates is fertilized with the radioac Experiment Station, University of Maine which modern instruments can detect tive material The writer and Paul N Carpenter (MS, iadioactivity in phosphorus is about six U of Maine, 1949) arc in charge of this months Ibis allows the use of radio work Objective phosphorus in crop studies duiing a The usual objective in experiments Rajs Emitted grow ing season The half-life of calcium is 180 davs making it useful as a tracer w 1 th “tagged.” or radioactive fertilizer Before taking up the actual research foi nearly five ycats The half-life of such is to measure the actual amount of the work, however, a few facts concerning elements as caibon and chlorine is thou applied fertilizer element which is taken radioactive elements may be helpful sands of years That of nitrogen and up by the crop grown, as compared to First of all, radioactivity involves the dis magnesium is only a few minutes and of the amount taken up from fertilizer resi integration of chemical elements during potassium a few houi s, making their use dues m the soil In order to measure the which various types of lays are given oft as tiaccis m plants very limited Phos- amount of phosphorus or other element The type of lay given oft depends upon phoius calcium sultui, manganese, sodi taken from the applied fertilizer, a chemi the particular element involved Ccitain um and zme art the feitihzer elements cal analysis for phosphorus is necessary In the process a sample of the dried plant lays arc very similar to the X-rays used which are most suitable as tiaccrs material is “ashed,” so as to convert the in medical tieatments Most ot the woik with radioactive Some radioactive elements such as phosphorus to a soluble form Ceitain tiacei elements in Maine has becn done chemicals are then added w hich convert uranium, the taw matciial tiom which with phosphoius The hist field experi atomic bombs aic made, and ladium occur the phosphorus to a piccipitate which is ments m the U S with radioactive P^2 collected and the amount measuied This naturally in certain types of rock None (P{1 is oi Imai y non-i adioactive phos- of these naturally-occui 1 mg ladioactivc precipitate is then placed in the Geiger l hoi us) were carried out in 1947 Part counter and the 1 adioactivity determined elements aie ncccssaiy in plant growth, ot this woik was done at Presque Isle, howcvci, and hence have little value in By comparing the radioactive count with Maine on potatoes while the lemainder the count of a similar amount of precipi feitih/ci studies l or ladioactivc studies was earned out m Not th Caiolina The with the common fertilizer elements ncc- tate of the fertilizer used, a close estimate pi esent woik is being continued under (Continued on Page 4) essaiy toi plant glow th. such as phos- the same coopci ative setup as that done phoius, calcium, sulfui, and otlicis, it is in 1947 (Dr 1 ciman joined the faculty in 1946 necessary to induce radioactivity aitifi- and n piofessor of Agionomy and agron cially Ibis m no way changes the chemi Radiosuperphosphate omist foi the Agricultural Erper intent cal piopcitics 01 fcitih/ci value of the Station devoting the major part of his element The fertih/ci clement potas \ phosphoi us compound, such as potas sium phosphate, is nitioduccd into the time to research

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