1912.1 PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 31. 135 



THE EFFECTS OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE 

 ELECTRICAL CHARGES ON SEEDS AND 

 SEEDLINGS. 



G. E. STONE. 



Considerable interest is now being manifested in the effects of 

 electricity on plant growth, and experiments are being made in 

 this country and abroad to study this influence. Most of the 

 experimenters at the present day are making use of high tension 

 wires, the aim being to charge the atmosphere rather than the 

 soil. 



For many years we have been carrying on experiments along 

 this line, and many of the results have been published from time 

 to time.^ However, we still have considerable data on the various 

 phases of the subject of electrical stimulation which have not 

 been published, as in many cases the experiments have not been 

 completed. 



The experiments given bere were made under my direction 

 in 190-1 by Mr. JSI. F. Monahan, a former assistant in the lab- 

 oratory, who while with us paid quite a little attention to the 

 subject of electrical stimulation and plant reaction. They were 

 made to determine the relative stimulating effect of positive and 

 negative charges on seed germination and growth of seedlings. 

 The seeds of lettuce and radish which we used were first moist- 

 ened by soaking in water for a few hours and were then charged 

 from a small friction machine, Topler-Holtz model. They were 

 then placed in electro-germinators, which consisted of a modified 

 Leyden jar and Zurich germinator, and 10 small sparks from a 

 Topler-Holtz machine were applied to each germinator, which 



■ Electro-Germination, Hatch Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 43, 1897; The Influence of Current Electricity 

 upon Plant Growth, Hatch Exp. Sta., 16th Ann. Rept., 1904; The Influence of Atmcspheric 

 Potential on Plants, Hatch Exp. Sta., 16th Ann. Kept., 1904; The Influence of Electrical Potential 

 on the Growth of Plants, Hatch Exp. Sta., 17th Ann. Kept., 1905; Comparisons of Electrical 

 Potential in Trees and in the Free Air, Hatch Exp. Sta., 17th Ann. Kept., 1905; Injuries to Shade 

 Trees from Electricity, Hatch Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 91, 1903; Influence of Electricity on Micro- 

 organisms, Bot. Gazette, 48; No. 5, November, 1909; Effects of Electricity on Plants, Bailey's 

 Cyclopedia of American Agriculture, Vol. II., p. 30. 



