The Parent Plant 19 



celled sarcoma oi a mare ihat received colchicine by intramuscular 

 injections.^ 



Reference to Dominici,-' a jMonecring investigator with irradia- 

 tions and treatment of cancer, is frequently made, but his original 

 studies have not been found except for a sentence carried in a text- 

 book. Dominici died in 1919, so the relation between his work and 

 modern studies is not as direct as many have been led to believe. 



While the late Professor G. M. Smith of Yale attended the Second 

 International Cancer Congress in Brussels in September, 19.H6, the 

 work by the Dustin school came to his attention. Here an elaborate 

 demonstration of research with colchicine was made. Before leaving 

 Europe, Professor Smith purchased colchicine with the hope that 

 specific research could be done in his laboratory in the United 

 States.!*^ Along with Professor D. U. Gardner and the late Professor E. 

 Allen, he developed assay methods to test estrogenic hormones. Their 

 preliminary paper was published in 1936. 



In another laboratory Dr. A. M. Brues^ and associates reported 

 important observations on the effect of colchicine upon mitosis in re- 

 generating liver. These studies struck at the basic mitotic problem. 



At Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York, Mr. E. L. Lahr 

 initiated research similar to that reported by the Yale group. An 

 Atlantic City A.A.A.S. sectional meeting, 1936-37, presented the work 

 by Allen, Gardner, and Smith, which paper was heard by Carnegie 

 staff scientists. Mr. Lahr performed two valuable services: first, he 

 informed the geneticists at the Carnegie Institution abotit research 

 with colchicine at the regular seminar attended by all the Datura 

 workers: and secondly, his excellent slides showed metaphasic stages 

 in tremendous numbers when colchicine was present. These results 

 were freely demonstrated and thoroughly discussed with all who 

 visited Mr. Lahr's laboratory. ^-^ 



One day in February, 1937, the slides were shown to the senior 

 author. The demonstration was so impressive that he obtained colchi- 

 cine for Allium root tip tests before leaving the laboratory. Appropri- 

 ate concentrations were determined for the experiment with plant 

 materials. \\'iihin 72 hours, large bulbous tips appeared cm onion 

 roots immersed in colchicine; the cells showed polyploid restitution 

 nuclei by acetocarmine methods. Since the senior author had been 

 privileged to attend seminars in cvtophysiology by Professor C. F. 

 Hottes, University of Illinois, the i)olyploid cells found in treated 

 root tips at the Carnegie Laboratories received more than average 

 passing attention.-'' 



The Allium root tip tests at the Carnegie Institution Laboratories 

 were follo^ved l)y seedling ticalments. Eadi test ])oint('d to:\;ird a 



