Veritas, Vol. 16, No. 27, April 5, 1976

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Volume 16, Number 27
April 5, 1976
Underexploited Plants Could Help Feed Developing Countries
Six Shell Assist Awards Announced
Dr. Douglas Duke, acting associate dean of the faculties, has announced that the following Shell Assist Grant awards have been made:
1)	Gerald G. Winter, department of art—SI00 toward the purchase of materials for artistic research in silk screen printing techniques.
2)	Dr. George A. Clarke, department of chemistry—$150 toward the purchase of equipment for use in connection with a research project on aromatic carboxylic acid.
3)	Dr. Keith Wellman, department of chemistry—$150 in connection with the investigation of the gas phase as a model medium of enzyme-like reactions.
4)	Dr. Josephine Johnson, department of communications—$200 toward the purchase of equipment for television and film classes.
5)	Dr. George H. Gilpin, department of English—$100 in connection with research for a bibliography of William Blake.
6)	Carmen Ross, School of Nursing—$200 toward the implementation of a faculty workshop to evaluate present clinical performance records for students and to implement new ones.
{Mine's Eterna! Russia
JOURNEY FOR OUR TIME
CAIS Publishes Custine’s Classic Study of Russia
A new edition of the Marquis de Custine’s classic work, Russia in 1839, edited and translated by Phyllis Penn Kohler, has been published by UM’s Center for Advanced International Studies.
Mrs. Kohler discovered the book while serving with her husband Foy Kohler, on assignment to the American Embassy in Moscow. She translated and edited the first edition of the work to appear in English, under the title Custine’s Eternal Russia: Journey for Our Time.
(continued on page 4)
by Valerie Rubin News Bureau
A University research scientist is co-author of a National Academy of Sciences book designed to introduce to developing countries 36 neglected plant species which might complement the 20 or so crops that feed all of the world’s people today.
Dr. Julia Morton, director of the UM Morton Collectanea, participated in 1974 National Academy brainstorming sessions which resulted in the recent publication of Underexploited Tropical Plants with Promising Economic Value.
The 188-page book, Dr. Morton said, is slated for distribution to economic and agricultural planners of tropical developing countries around the world.
Dr. Morton was among 21 economic botanists from 11 countries invited by the National Academy to a three-day conference in March, 1974, to evaluate 400 plants nominated by plant scientists from around the world.
Seven of the 36 plants selected for inclusion in the final report were suggested originally by Dr. Morton. The high priority crops were selected for their suitability to the tropical climate; their potential as sources of food, forage or industrial raw material,
and their potential for increasing the overall productivity of developing countries.
An example is the cocoyam, a cousin to the potato, described by Dr. Morton as widely adaptable to tropical habitats, already accepted in some cultures and of significant commercial food value.
Yet, while great effort has been devoted to introducing the potato to tropical lowlands, thé indigenous cocoyam has been largely neglected.
Hearts of palm, gourmet salad delights supplied up to now largely by the destruction of wild palms in Brazil and Costa Rica, are also listed as plant products of significant but unrecognized commercial potential.
The establishment of palm plantations to supply palm hearts, Dr. Morton suggested, could help meet increasing world-wide demand for this cabbage-like vegetable, create new export products for several tropical countries and prevent the destruction of wild palms.
Each of the plants included in Unexploited Tropical Plants is
described in detail. Selected readings are suggested for each along with an outline of research needs and a list of persons to contact for research information and planting materials.
Three New Courses Will Deal With Needs of Elderly
by Valerie Rubin News Bureau
The University will offer three new courses in coming months dealing with the aging process, its effects on human institutions and the needs of the aged.
The new courses were announced by Priscilla Perry, director of the UM Institute for the Study of Aging. The object of the courses, Mrs. Perry said, is to enhance the understanding and formal training of persons already
working with the aged and to help prepare students for careers in gerontology.
To be offered during the 1976 summer session is “Housing for the Elderly: The Spanish-Speaking Minority in Dade County,’’ which was the subject of an article in the March 29 issue of Veritas.
Two courses to be offered in the coming fall term are “Social Gerontology” and “Cultural Per-
spectives on Aging.”
In Social Gerontology, Dr. Aaron Lipman, professor of sociology, will discuss the ways changing age distributions in industrialized nations have affected various aspects of social organization.
In Cultural Perspectives, Virginia Hine, instructor in anthropology, will compare modern western attitudes toward aging with those prevalent in other cultures.
University
OF MIAMI
Coral Gablas, Florida
50 Years of
Progress
1925-26/1975-76
Bowman Foster Ashe
First Presidem / University of Miami / 1926 1962