occurs in the Polar light and which are going from the atmosphere 

 to the earth and vice versa." He then proceeds to give the fol- 

 lowing reasons for these deductions. 



" The Physiology of plants," he points out, " gives a satisfac- 

 tory explanation of the functions which most organs have to 

 perform and good reason for their existence in varying forms ; " 

 he proceeds tc argue that the needle-like shape of the leaves of 

 the fir trees, and beard on the ears of most cereals might well be 

 the means of transmitting small electric charges through the 

 plants, and to verify this argument he proved the presence of 

 electricity round the plants by means of fine metal points, and 

 with a specially contrived apparatus he even managed to register 

 the amount. 



Upon returning to Finland, in 1886, Professor Lemstrom com- 

 menced his experiments and the result was that the percentage of 

 crops grown under the influence of the electrified wires was greatly 

 in excess of those in the unelectrified area. 



These experiments were followed up in 1904 by Mr. J. E. New- 

 man, of Gloucester, England. Mr. Newman erected an apparatus 

 at Salford Priors, near Evesham, in Gloucestershire, the property 

 of Mr. Raymond Bom ford. The apparatus which was designed 

 and patented by Sir Oliver Lodge, is extremely easy tc manage. 

 It consists of a large induction coil with spark gaps, five vacuum 

 globes through which one current, the positive, is guided to the 

 overhead wires in the field, the negative being connected to the 

 earth. 



Two different kinds of electricity positive and negative are 

 always attracted by each other and endeavouring to meet, so that 

 in the arrangement of separating the two electricities when coming 

 from the coil, they are continuously striving to reach each other 

 through the air that separates them, thus causing a discharge of 

 electricity in the air space between the overhead wires and the 

 earth. This is just what happens in a thunderstorm, when two 

 heavily charged clouds of opposite signs approach each other, 

 and when the distance between them is short enough for the 

 electricity to jump across, they discharge and a flash of lightning 

 is the result. 



The coil requires quite a small current of electricity to excite it, 

 which can easily be applied if there is a convenient main in the 

 neighbourhood, otherwise it is necessary to have a small engine and 

 dynamo. The apparatus must be kept in a perfectly water-tight 

 house or shed, the dimensions of which do not require to be more 

 than I2ft. by gft. A system of poles is arranged round the field 

 or fields to be electrified, one to the acre being sufficient (see 

 photograph at page 3). Each pole is surmounted by a very 

 powerful porcelain insulator and round these insulators the main 

 wire is fixed (No. 18 ordinary galvanised wire), and extends round 

 the outside of the area to be cultivated. Stretched from these 



