1846.] Editorial JYotices. 157 



will be seen at two points only. If we apply the principle on a 

 large scale, to a field for instance, with a proper combination and 

 arrangement of plates and of the connecting parts, the effect will 

 be just as limited as in the ordinary battery; the development of 

 acids and bases will take place only at the poles. Now the only 

 material which will be produced in these arrangements is an 

 acid, or in some instances a base, as in the case of the alkalies, 

 when in combination with an acid. But then, these mate- 

 rials cannot be diffused at all; they must, from the nature of the 

 action which produces their development, be confined to the single 

 pole. Or, again, if a pair of zinc and copper plates of a con- 

 stant battery was used in cultivating pot or house plants, with 

 the negative pole on the surface of the soil and the positive pole 

 in the hole in the bottom of the pot, seeds, without doubt, will 

 germinate and spring up sooner than in pots in which these 

 arrangements are not made. The seeds are, or may be, supplied 

 with the separated elements of the salts in the soil. Nothing is 

 brought to the plant from abroad ; and hence, the soil is only the 

 more rapidly exhausted. It is possible, we say, to employ this 

 form of electricity to hasten the germination of seed, and may 

 possibly be used to a limited extent by gardners. But then the 

 expense of the power would more than counter-balance all the 

 benefits which can be derived from it. It is possible, and we 

 deem this suggestion the most important we have seen, that it 

 may be employed to revive or awaken the vitality of seeds which 

 have been kept for a long time, or which may have been brought 

 from foreign countries, and of which fears are entertained of their 

 life. But applied to a field, as has been proposed, we deem the 

 whole scheme destitute of a foundation, 



JVote. — It is not improbable but plants may be rendered more 

 electro-negative than they naturally are; and hence, more active 

 in assimilating electro-positive bodies; still, this does not alter 

 the case, as we understand it. 



The Refuse of the Wood Yard. — The best disposition which 

 can be made of the refuse of wood yards, is first to char it, and 

 then spread it either in the garden or meadow. Scrape up the 

 pure vegetable matters with the dirt, and keep up a smothered 

 fire until the whole is well charred; some portions will be burnt 

 to ashes, the rest will remain in the form of fine coal. By pur- 

 suing this mode, the farmer gets rid of dirt and the harbor for 

 fleas and other vermin, and obtains a valuable manure, from which 

 he will derive a profit for years to come. 



