517 



10.1*5 ounces ill wcig^lit, with a siioar content of 12.2 per cent and a 

 purity coetHcient of 7!).7. Tlie best lot ol* beets averaged 20.9 per cent 

 of sugar, witli a purity of 94.7. 



Financial kepokt (p. i;?")), — A statement of receipts and expendi- 

 tures for tlie tiscal year ending June 30, 1S90. 



Meteorological kecokd (pp. 130-142). — A tabulated montlily 

 record for 1890. The yearly summary is as follows: Air temperature 

 (degrees F.). — Maximum 102, July 8; mininuim 12, December 28; 

 mean 00.8; mean maximum 07.3; mean minimum 45; mean daily range 

 22.3. Precipitation. — Total (inches) 30.29; number of rainy days 151. 



Massachusetts Hatch Station, Bulletin No. 16, January, 1892 (pp. 8). 



Electroculture of plants, C. D. Warner, B. S. — ^This includes 

 a brief resume of investigations on the effect of electric currents on the 

 growth of plants, and a report on experiments at the station with let- 

 tuce grown under the influence of dynamical electricity. The substance 

 of the bulletin is as follows: 



From the time electricity became a science, much research has been made to 

 determine its effect, if any, upon plant growth. The eai'licr investigations gave, in 

 many cases, contradictory results. * * * Sucli men as .Jolabert, Nollet, Main- 

 bray, and other eminent physicists affirmed that electricity favored the germination 

 of seeds and accelerated the growth of plants, while on the other hand Ingeuhouse, 

 Sylvestre, and other savants denied the existence of this electric influence. The 

 lieatcd ccmtroversies and animated discussions attending the ojiposing theories stim- 

 ulated more careful and thorough iuA-estigations, which estal)lished beyond a doubt 

 tliat electricity had a beneficial effect on vegetation. Sir Humphrey Davy, Hum- 

 boldt, Wollaston, and Becquerel occupied themselves with the theoretical side of 

 the question; but it was not till after 1845 that practical electroculture w^as under- 

 taken. "Williamson suggested the use of gigantic electrostatic machines, but the 

 attempts Avere fruitless. The methods most generally adopted in experiments con- 

 sisted of two metallic plates — one of copper and one of zinc — placed in the soil and 

 connected by a wire. Sheppard employed the method in England in 1846 and 

 Forster used the same in Scotland. In the year 1847 Hubeck in Germany surrounded 

 a field with a network of wires. Shejipard's experiments showed that eleetricity 

 increased the return from root crops, while grass perished near the electrodes, and 

 plants ileveloped without the use of electricitj- were inferior to those grown under 

 its influence. Hiibeck came to the conclusion that seeds germinated more rapidly 

 and buckwheat gave larger returns ; in all other cases the electric current produced 

 no result. Professor Fife in England and Otto von Eude in Germany carried on experi- 

 ments at the same time, but with negative results, and these scientists advised the 

 comi)lete abandonment of applying electricity to agriculture. After some years had 

 elapsed Fichtner began a series of experiments in the same direction. He employed 

 a battery, the two svires of which were placed in the soil parallel to each other. 

 Between the wires were planted peas, grass, and barley, and in every case the crop 

 showed an increase of from 13 to 27 per cent when compared with ordinary methods 

 of cultivation. 



Fischer of Waldheim. believing atmospheric electricity to aid much in the growth 



and development of jihints, made the following tests: He placed metallic supports, 



to the number of about 60, around each hectare (2.47 acres) of loam ; these supports 



were provided at their summit with electrical accumulator^ in the form of crowns 



17450— >^o. 8 2 



