Page 4Bu EUGENE REGISTER-GUARD, Friday, Dee. 21, 1962
" 1 v 1 ' '
To Your Health i".
Eye Banks
;,Supply Part
Of Cornea
By DR. JOSEPH G. MOLNER
Dear Doctor Molner: Will
you pleaae give me tome in
formation about an "eye
bank?" Or ia there any auch
thing?
think blood banks are
.Wonderful so people can have
transfusions at once when
they need them. I have heard
.hat surgeons can transplant
the human eye and prevent
.piindness.
I told our family physician
"that if I knew for certain that
''ivillins my eyes" would keep
someone from going blind,
believe I would be willing to
-do so. Mrs. L. C, '
'3fos, there are such things as
eye banks. They aren't exactly
like blood banks, bone banks
or other such banks, but they
do, indeed, prevent a great
deal of blindness. Or, more cor
rectly, they restore lost sight to
people with a certain type of
defect. --H
you visited an "eye bank"
you .would probably- be disap
pointed, because there isn't
mOth to see. We can't store
eyes In large quantities as we
do blood and some other items.
! However, you most certainly
would NOT be disappointed to
see patient who has had sight
restored because , of an eye
bank.-. !.. '
. The eye is not "transplanted1
in the sense of exchanging the
entire organ. That is not yet
possible. Rather, a portion of
the cornea, or outer covering of
the eyeball, the window, is
used.
. Many a person has become
blind because the cornea either
is cloudy, or because it has been
burned or badly scarred, al
though leaving the parts of the
pye behind it intact.
H is possible to remove the
old cornea and apply a now one.
3ut the only source of a cornea
is. from another eye.
SUnlike cases requiring blood
transfusions, these operations
need not be done on an emer
gency basis, immediately. They
cijn be done next week or next
month, or even next year. The
patient can wait and often has
tt" wait until another eye is
available.
fThus an "eye bank" really
consists mainly of a list of peo
ple who need corneas, and a
lilt of people who are willing
that their eyes be used for this
generous purpose.
:.The more quickly a cornea
can be used, the better. There
fore eyes that are given to the
"bank are removed promptly,
aqd carefully kept refrigerated
until actually used. The eyes
don't stay in tho "bank" more
than a day or two. Sometimes
it is a matter only of hours. But
Br this way people regain the
precious gift of sight.
'"Arrangements to leave eyes
for this purpose must be made
beforehand. An eye surgeon or
tius eye department of a hos
pital will be glad to tell you
now to fill out a simple form
that is required. (There may be
minor differences in some
slates.)
1963, Field EnterprUef, lno. .
That's Nature
Let Hawks, Owls Alone
By PRINCE E. HELFRICH
Northwest Conservationist
A fast-moving hawk swooped low over
the trees. The hunter aimed and fired
and a puff of feathers indicated that a
direct hit was made. With a smug smile
of satisfaction the hunter continued on his
way content that he had saved his quota
of game birds that day. All too often this
happens along the coastal and mountain
flyways of North America.
' , Hunters in the field for upland birds
try their skill on a moving target, justi
fying the kill in supposition that the hawk
or owl is competing in their bird hunting.
Some farmers shoot hawks or owls on
sight. A hawk setting on top of a tall tree
is an inviting target to any gunner.
Unless some real protection is forth
coming the hawks and owls will soon fol
low tho trail of the passenger pigeon or
the whooping crane. Each year their ranks
grow thinner. Their habitat is fast dis
appearing and more and more people are
I encroaching on their wilderness territory.
Even the bald eagle population showed a
decline, last year. .
In the past, attempts have been made
to classify hawks and owls into beneficial
or destructive groups. The Coopers, sharp
shinned and goshawks were supposed to
be the bad actors of their species. All
. other hawks' wore considered beneficial to
the farmers. Likewise the great horned .
owl was condemned as being too destruc
tive to wildlife while the rest of the owl
family was considered helpful. Now opin
ions are changing and all tho hawks and
owls are considered of some use. Their
predatory qualities are more than offset
by their good deeds in controlling rodent ,
population. We must concede that in some '.
instances hawks or owls must be destroyed
when they start raiding a chicken house or -declimating
the easily caught songbirds.
As Nature produced a given species of
bird or animal, Nature also provided a
check on this species in the form of some
predators. Most all fish, birds, or animals
can reproduce far beyond the carrying
capacity of their habitat. Some must die
every year so that others may carry on..
Predators perform the job of weeding out
the weak, the sick, the unadaptable and
leave a healthy stock to carry on. In this
way predators are necessary to all species.
And the predator performs the duties of
keeping a species in check with far less
cruelty and more skill than natural con
trols which would be starvation and dis
ease. - Predators have a great tendency to col
lect where the prey is most abundant. If
favorable conditions have built up a sur
plus population of rabbits or mice, pre
dators move in to reduce the population
to the normal carrying capacity. Note what
happened in Klamath and Lake counties
when coyotes and bobcats were almost eli
minated by poisoning. The rabbit and
mouse population literally exploded; whole
fields of grass and grain were destroyed
in a short time. Then the owls and hawks
moved in. In some fields I noted hundreds
of owls catching mice. Hawks were
perched everywhere getting their share. In
a few months the mice were reduced to
normal numbera.
This same condition could exist in the
songbird population. Although we hate to
see any songbird destroyed, it might be
come necessary in an over-populated area.
Thus hawks and owls have been placed
here for some purpose and it is not up to
man to dostroy them. The next time you
see a hawk or owl perched in the top of a
tree refrain from taking a shot at him.
Sit down and watch him soar high in the
sky or listen to his shrill warning scream
and realize that he haa a right to live a
place in Nature's plan.
Ask Andy
Moon's Face Ever Same
Andy sends a complete, 20
volume set of the " World
Book Encyclopedia to Lois
Atalick, age 12, of St. Catlu
'arines, OnU, for her question:
Why can't we see the other side
of the moon?
The earth rotates on its axis
and spins around once every 24
hours. As this happens, first
one side of the -globe and then
another faces the moon. This is
why the moon rises, climbs over
the sky and sets out of sight
If we stood on the moon, we
could watch our world spin all
the way around once every 24
hours.
The moon, too, we are told,
rotates on its axis. But we can
not watch it spin around, show
ing first one side, then another.
The moon faces us with the
same side all the time, but,
nevertheless, it rotates. -You
can solve this mystery if you
have ever danced a hoedown.
At one point in the merry
dance, you are told to swing
your partner. So the two of
you stretch out your arms and
hold hands and around you go.
You are both spinning around
Just as the moon rotates on its
axis. But you keep your faces
turned toward each other. This
is just half the explanation of
why we never see the other side
of the moon.
Now, suppose a pair of hoc-
down partners drops hands and
does a different twirl. The girl
stays on the same spot and
spins around and around on
her toes. The boy swings around
his partner keeping his face
turned toward her. This happy
hoedown is just like the mo
lions of the earth and the orbit
ing moon.
As the boy spins around his
partner, he rotates on his axis.
With each spin he faces north
south, east and west. The moon
also rotates on its axis as it
orbits the earth. Each lunar
rotation is equal to the time it
takes to make one lunar orbit.
In fancy language, we see the
same side of the moon because
its rotation is equal to its revo
lution. It takes our busy moon
27'ii days to make one rotation
and one revolution. However, it
wobbles a little as it dances
around. Sometimes we see a
little more on one side and
sometimes a little more on the
other side. Altogether, we get
to see about 59 per cent of the
surface of the moon.
Andy sends a Hammond's
International World Globe to
Vince Casney, age 10, of Spo
kane, Wash., for his question:
Where did the totem poles
originate?
The gaudy totem pole was
Invented by the Indians who
lived along the northwestern
shores of Canada and Alaska.
The impressive posts were also
made by various tribes that
lived on the nearby islands,
Experts now think that the idea
did not originate until about 200
years ago. For a long time,
most people thought that totem
poles played some part in the
religions of these tribes.
But we now suspect that this
was not so. A chief or perhaps
a brave would have a totem
pole carved to impress his
neighbors with his own im
portance. The carvings, one
above another, were to explain
the noteworthy events in his
life and his own likeness ap
peared at the top of the totem
pole. The tall, gaily painted
tree trunk was a sort of diary.
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