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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 15, 1952)
I EIGHT MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE Sunday, June 16, 1952 Fossil' Trees, 60,000,000 Years Old, Now Grown Throughout World; Several in Rogue River Valley u Metasequoia, Once Thought Extinct, Discovered in China Medford Forester Raises 8 From Seed Fossils of past ages provide the irregular links with what has gone' before. When a fossil becomes "alive" after a sleep of UDwards of 60,000,000 years, something of a stir is created in the scientific world. Such a stir happened in 1945 when a Chinese forester, T. Wang, found a strange tree, the metasequoia, and took speci ments to the head of the Fan Memorial Institute of Biology In Peking, China, Dr. h. H. Hu. The Institute head as a matter of course sent specimens to Dr. Elmer P. Morrill, at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard univer sity where he had studied. Expedition Sent Correspondence followed in SeDtember. 1947, Dr. Merrill sent $250 ($9,750,000 in Chinese money) to pay the cost of an exoedition to explore for more trees and to get seeds for more planting. On September A, tne expedition left Nanking by air and on September 11 was at Metasequoialand. The party re turned in December with an am ple supply of seeds which were forwarded to Dr.. Morrill on Jan. 5, 1948, who immediately sent out over 600 packets and a large quantity of bulk seeds all over the world. The seeds were distributed with the Idea of finding where they might thrive in the varied climates and soils of the earth. By March, 1948, seedlings were thriving, among other places, in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, New York, Washington, D. C; Montreal, Canada; London, England; Edin burgh, Scotland; Paris, France; Geneva, Switzerland; Australia, North 'Africa, parts of Asia, Columbia, Honduras, and coastal parts of Nova Scotia. Reports were received by the Arnold Arboretum from every country to which seeds were ent, except Russia. A recipient of some of the seeds in the Rogue river valley was John Gribble,. 139 Kenwood avenue, Medford, a retired U. S. forest service acting supervisor, whose hobby la collecting and raising rare trees. Gribble successfully raised eight seedlings, all but two ot which have been given to gar den clubs or individuals. Since he received his first seeds, Grib ble has been In constant cor respondence with Dr. Merrill at the Arboretum. The local forest er states that his chief interest in the metasequoia growth is to "give credit where it is due." He cited that certain individuals have tried to capitalize on the discovery of the "living fossil," but that the Arnold Arboretum has been the sole force in getting the seeds out of China and in distributing them. Make False Claims Gribble quoted a letter written him recently by Dr, Merrill which says, In part; ", . . certain palcobotanists who have nothing whatever to do with the meta sequoia discovery see an oppor tunity for institute and personal publicity and have led the public with the idea that they or their Institution brought the first In troduction of metasequoia Into the United States. As a matter of fact, all mctasequoias came from the one Arnold Arboretum expedition in 1947, as no bota nist or collector has visited Meta sequoialand since that date." Another common misconcep tion about the trees, Gribble said, is that the genua is related ATTENTION! Let Us Put a Curbing And Fence Around Your CEMETERY LOT We Also Put in PATIOS, WALKS, DRIVEWAYS & FISH POOLS Reliable Cement Work FREE ESTIMATES Ray Chamberlin Licensed Service PHONE 3-3085 V X hi S i't km mA fxWi FOUND IN CHINA The metasequoia, be lieved extinct for about 60,000,000 years, was discovered to still be in existence in 1045 by a Chinese forester who discovered the trees in a remote valley in China. An expedition in 1947, financed by Harvard university's Arnold Ar boretum, went by airplane to the remote valley called Metasequoialand and found 1,500 of the "living fossil" trees, some reaching a height of 140 feet and seven feet in diameter. Seeds were r.' Vf5r saS '.?"s. It' F ' J PLANTED HERE Pictured metasequoia tree grown from seed Kenwood avenue, Medford, which park. Gribble successfully raised Arboretum seed sent out alter the away all except two of the trees parks and individuals. The tree has grown almost four feet since the seed was received. They have grown more rapidly In other climates, with one reaching 124 feet in four years at Chapel Hill, N C. to the redwoods. They have in correctly termed "dawn red woods." Citing Dr. Merrill's let ter, Gribble stated that the meta sequoia is "certainly not in the ancestry of the redwood and is regarded as a cousin of the swamp cypress and resembles the Larch." He quoted Dr. Mer rill as saying tne tree's only re semblance to the sequoia is in its name. The tree sheds Its needles In the spring like the Larch and as such goes under the botanical name of glyptostroboides. The name suggested by Dr. Hu in China for a new genus is meta sequoiaceac. The tree's mature size was dis taken from the trees and have now been planted in all sections of the world. The tree's rapid growth and its texture, which resembles white pine, makes interest in it keen, especially in England where it is grown commercially. Pic tured above is a metasequoia in China with pagan shrines surrounding its base. The natives of the area worship here and give offerings to their gods. The tree sheds its needles in the fall and resembles the swamp cypress and Larch. above Is a rare three-year-old by John Gribble (above), 139 is now planted in Hawthorne eight seedlings from the Arnold China expedition, and has given to Rogue valley garden clubs, 1,500 of them were found with some towering 140 feet In the air with 7-foot diameters. The age and magnitude of the trees are such that the Chinese natives of Metasequoialand build shrines at their bases (see picture) where they make their prayers and gifts to their pagan gods. Gribble said the name "liv ing fossil" stems from the fact that the trees are almost the exact counterpart of fossil trees which flourished in Oregon mil' lions of years ago. Specimens of tliosfi trees were uncovered tills spring in the yard of the high school at Fossil, Ore., during excavations which were being made. cial features of the tree is its rapid growth. A specimen given to the Medford Garden club by Gribble and planted in Haw thorne park (see picture) has grown four feet in three years, while in other places the tree growth has been even more rapid. In Chapel Hill, N. C, the tallest of 20 metasequoias reached 12V4 feet this spring after four years; a tree at Santa Barbara, Calif., grew five feet in one year; and a tree in Port land, Ore., grew 8V4 feet in four years. Leo Isaac of the U. S. forest service, is quoted by the Port land Oregonian as saying this growth is faster than that of the fnoy the convenience I Exclutive New CERAMIC PERMAPH0NE Patented! Retains excep tional sensitivity even under extreme weather conditions. Performs effi ciently where others often fail. Resists deterioration; saves upkeep costs. It's the biggest Hearing Aid news in years! No other hearing aid the fomoui features "ROYAL" AND f!HIiL- HEARING AIDS Fa, Mild or svr impairments VSjiBr J Cuxfetrfeo Prk.i Ant. ' tlinu 10-DAY RETURN PRIVILEGE - GEO. E. WESTSIDE 135 West Main Street IATTERIES FOR All AIDS Too Many Doctors Seen for America In Next Few Years Chicago (U.R) The nation may have too many doctors with in a few years, according to the American Medical Association's director of economic research. Dr. Frank G. Dickinson said that medical training facilities have been expanding too rapidly. He said he'd rather see the money spent for training chem ists, physicists and teachers. Own Opinion Dickinson was interviewed at the 101st annual convention of the AMA. He emphasized that the opinion about the future sup ply of doctors was his own. The AMA has no stand on the sub ject, he said. Dickinson is not a physician but a doctor of philosophy. He taught economics for 25 years at the University of Illinois. He said there were many opinions about how many doctors are needed in the United States, but Douglas fir in its natural nam tat in Oregon. The largest plantation of tne trees is found in Shropshire, England, under the supervision of Major Ackers, Gloucester, Gribble said, where 2,000 trees are set out on 1,000 acres in a serious commercial venture. Other large plantations of the trees are In Wales and South Africa. Like White Pine The wood, according to Dr. Merrill, resembles that of our native white pine, and was used for building purposes in China. Merrill also states that the tree may some day be widely planted in England as a timber tree. Gribble stated that such wood "very valuable" as the old white pine was extremely light, being known on the rivers as "cork pine", because it floats so high in the water. Dr, Merrill also sent taiwania seeds, which also grow in China, to Gribble, but they died. The latter said he knows of one tree, eight feet tall, in Golden Gate park which survived. Seeds of the cryptomeria, which resem ble our redwoods and are grown in Japan, have just been re ceived by Gribble from 'Dr. Merrill. Several Given Besides two or three indivld als, Gribble has given metase quoia seedlings to the Ashland Garden club (placed in Lithia park). Grants Pass park, and Illinois Valley Garden club. These small trees, if they con tinue to thrive, will be, in truth, Dr. Merrill's "living fossils" and a tangible wooden link with an age we formerly knew only by fossil imprints in the rocks of time. of these f Ingenious "RESERVE BATTERY SWITCH" So helpful ... so htndyl Avoid embarrassment and inconvenience when "A" battery suddenly becomes exhausted and fails. Flick the fingertip switch fresh, rmrvt battery instaotly takes over! of any price oivei you off found in Zenith iutrvmenft "SUPER-ROYAL" s ebJ X feilt f rr Ceil SATISFACTION GUARANTIED WHITE PHARMACY Medford ON-THE-SPOT REPAIR SERVICE he personally feels there may be enough now. He said the big problem is their distribution. "There are too many doctors in New York and Chicago," Dickinson said. "Some of them should move into other commu. nities." Many Erroneous Ideas Many doctors, he said, have erroneous ideas about practicing in the big cities. He cited federal government figures which show ed doctors could make more money in smaller towns. In 1949, the figures showed the average physician's income was $11,058. The highest aver age was in cities between 50,000 and 500,000 population $12,766 for cities between 250,000 and 500,000. The income started ta pering off in cities of more than 500,000 population. "The wives have more to say about where doctors will prac tice than the doctors themselves," Dickinson said. "They like the cities. My advice is for internes to stay single till they can get located." Advances Blamed Dickinson said that technolo gical advances have had the ef fect of providing the nation with more doctors. "In the last 12 years physi cians' output has increased one third," he said. He explained that doctors now can handle more pa- :aU Speci iXriHl JmL J J. 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Radford told reporters at a news conference that one reason he came here Sunday is to seek more of "everything" for Gen eralissimo Chiang Kai-Shek's troops. tients than formerly. Wonder drugs have speeded recoveries, expanded transportation facil ities bringing patients to doctors rather than doctors to the pa tients, there are more hospital beds and doctors are using more technical assistants, he said. There are about 210,000 physi cians in the nation, Dickinson said, three-quarters of whom are practicing actively. About 6,000 more will come out of medical schools this month, he said. By 1960 there will be 30 per cent more graduates. About 3,700 doc tors die annually. PARK VIEW NURSING HOME 906 West Main Street Medford, Oregon Phone 2-6938 Completely equipped Nursing Home for chronic nd convalescents. Hot water heat throughout building. Licensed by the State of Oregon. 24-HOUR NURSING CARE Registered Nurse in Charge THE WEST'S RETAILER Big 8 cu. ft. site at a low .uroi a iu.qi. ensper, jo io. treeier chest, porcelain interior, Zonemaster cold control, instant leg levelers. UL approved. Vour od refrigerator con be used o a down poymenf pro viding rt meetr 15 of the purchase price. USED LAWN As MOWERS PHONE 2-6882 ' WRONG ANCHORAGE Jacksonville, Fla. (U.R) Roy P. Delsaver was fined $50 in federal court because he anch ored his shrimp boat in the wrong place. Delsaver said he moored the shrimper Miss Mar garet in a restricted area at Dry Tortugas because of bad weather. For Combining Living Quarters with .Vocational or Professional with Ample Parking Large Dry Basement Look Into 804 E. Main Corner of Cottage Aviilable now. Said or tease. Will remodel to suit. Phone E. P. Gerth, Hotel Medford or 2-6291 OLDEST AND LARGEST OF AUTO SUPPLIES Two Dor-racks Big, Bushel Storage Bin Written 5-Yr. 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