CHAPTER V 



HOW DOES ELECTRICITY ACT UPON VEGE- 

 TATION? 



BEFORE speculating concerning the rationale 

 of the action of electricity upon the growth 

 of plants, it may be helpful to review, even very 

 briefly, the manner in which plants get their nutri- 

 tion from the air and soil. 



The atmosphere is a mixture of one fifth oxygen 

 and four fifths nitrogen, with varying percentages 

 of carbon dioxid and vapor of water, besides 

 minute quantities of a few other compounds. The 

 leaves of plants have the power of breaking up the 

 carbon dioxid (CO 2 ) and fixing its carbon, at 

 the same time setting free its oxygen. This disin- 

 tegrating action upon the carbon dioxid in wood- 

 lands is performed on such a large scale that suffi- 

 cient oxygen is liberated to produce the exhilirating 

 feeling one often experiences during an outing in 

 the woods. This appropriation of carbon from 

 carbon dioxid goes on when two conditions co- 

 exist : sunlight and the presence of chlorophyll in 

 the leaves. To properly appreciate the value of 

 sunlight to vegetation one must realize that it not 

 only enables the chlorophyll to decompose carbon 

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