35 



decomposing its constituents, and Sir Oliver Lodge admits that 

 though the electric discharge cannot take the place of sunshine^ 

 in a minor way it is quite possible it assists growth, especially on 

 dull days. Lack of sufficient sun in our climate is one of the great 

 reasons that our crops are less luxuriant than in those countries 

 where, from the time of seed sowing to the harvesting of crops, a 

 day without sunshine is rarely recorded. We have a few 

 days, in exceptional seasons perhaps a few weeks in succession, 

 of cloudless sky and brilliant sunshine, during which period 

 vegetation makes vigorous progress ; then come days when 

 the sky is dull and grey and plant life seems practically at a. 

 standstill. Is it not a natural inference to make, that the electric 

 discharge, though by no means having the powerful influence of 

 sunshine, accelerates growth where otherwise it would be making 

 very imperceptible progress ? 



Moisture* 



The small interstices between the particles of the soil have the 

 capacity of sucking up the moisture from lower levels by what is 

 known as capillary attraction. If we take a small " capillary " 

 glass tube bent in the form of a horse shoe, pour some water into it 

 till it about half fills the tube, the water will be observed to stand 

 at the same level on either side. By placing an electrically- 

 charged wire (negative) above one arm of the tube the water will 

 creep up the side of the glass under the charged wire ; from this 

 fact we might quite reasonably imagine that a current of negative 

 electricity going through the soil might substantially assist these 

 tiny passages in the giound in their work of drawing up moisture 

 from a lower level. A good instance was seen to confirm this 

 theory in a trial carried on at Lincluden House during the remark- 

 ably dry season of 1911. The leaves on the potato plants in the 

 electrified area were observed to be much less affected by radia- 

 tion from the sun during the day, than those in the non-electrified 

 area. But great judgment would be required in the application of 

 the discharge during a long spell of dry weather, as the crop,, 

 though benefiting at the start, might deteriorate considerably- 

 owing to the moisture becoming exhausted. 



n Flow of Sap. 



Weak electric currents are passing through the plants and! 

 discharging into the atmosphere by means of the leaves. By 

 directly testing living plants a feeble current has been detected 

 when sap is flowing vigorously, so that it would be quite reasonable 

 to suppose that by augmenting these small currents we should 

 have an increase in flow of sap and consequently greater stimula- 

 tion of the plant. The formation of both starch and sugar have 

 been found to increase under the influence of the discharge, and 

 germination is accelerated. 



To fully understand the physiological effect of the discharge 



