330 THE ADDRESSES, LECTURES, ETC., OF 



railway metals or fencing wire, may be called into requisition for 

 this purpose. The small space occupied by the electro-motor, its 

 high working speed, and the absence of waste products, render it 

 specially available for the general distribution of power to cranes 

 and light machinery of every description. A loss of effect of 50 

 per cent, does not stand in the way of such applications, for it 

 must be remembered that a powerful central engine of best con- 

 struction produces motive power with a consumption of two 

 pounds of coal per horse-power per hour, whereas small engines 

 distributed over a district would consume not less than five ; we 

 thus see that there is an advantage in favour of electric trans- 

 mission as regards fuel, independently of the saving of labour and 

 other collateral benefits, which more than compensate for interest 

 on the cost of installation. 



To agriculture, electric transmission of power seems well adapted 

 for effecting the various operations of the farm and fields from 

 one centre. Having worked such a system myself in combination 

 with electric lighting and horticulture for upwards of two years, 

 I can speak with confidence of its economy, and of the facility 

 with which the work is accomplished in charge of untrained 

 persons. 



As regards the effect of the electric light upon vegetation there 

 is little to add to Avhat was stated in my paper read before Section 

 A last year, and ordered to be printed with the Report, except 

 that in experimenting upon wheat, barley, oats, and other cereals 

 sown in the open air, there was a marked difference between the 

 growth of the plants influenced and those uninfluenced by the 

 electric light. This was not very apparent till towards the end 

 of February, when, with the first appearance of mild weather, 

 the plants under the influence of an electric lamp of 4000 candle 

 power placed about 5 metres above the surface, developed with 

 extreme rapidity, so that by the end of May they stood about 

 4 feet high, with the ears in full bloom, when those not under 

 its influence Avere under 2 feet in height, and showed no sign of 

 the ear. 



In the electric railway first constructed by Dr. Werner Siemens, 

 at Berlin, in 1879, electric energy was transmitted to the moving 

 carriage or train of carriages, through the two rails upon which it 

 moved, these being sufficiently insulated from each other by being 



