ELECTRO-CULTURE. 93 
ing glass for the purpose of discovering the rate of respiration 
and absorption in the plants; the figures were marked on a 
chart; the bottle refilled as before, and the plants replaced in 
them. From the very commencement of the experiment a 
marked difference was observed ; the plants electrically treated 
developing much more rapidly than the control ones, both in 
root, leaf, and stalk. As soon as the nitrogen content of the 
seed had been exhausted in the control plants, they ceased to 
make growth, while the electrified seedlings increased 
rapidly. At the end of eight weeks all the plants were 
removed from their bottles; carefully dried in blotting paper ; 
each plant done up in a separate piece of paper, labelled, and 
all sent to the laboratory at Leeds University for purposes 
of analysis. The figures of the analysis are not at present 
available, but the dry weight of the electrified plants exceeded 
those of the control by 41 per cent. The most striking 
points observed in this experiment was the fixation of nitro- 
gen from the atmosphere through the medium of the dis- 
charge, and the increase in rate of respiration and absorption. 
Last year, 1915, the crop chosen for the experiment was 
oats, which was grown on the same field as used for the 
previous trials with potatoes. As everyone in this district 
will remember the season was an exceptionally dry one, there 
was a scorching sun and the field being of a gravelly nature 
devoid of all shade, these combined conditions were not con- 
ducive to harvesting a heavy crop. 
From the very commencement of growth the oats under 
the electrified network showed a conspicuous difference in 
comparison with the unelectrified, and did not suffer from 
the prevailing drought to the same extent, which fact seemed 
to confirm the theory suggested by Lemstrém that the electric 
current causes an ascent of liquid in the capillary tubes of the 
plants, and by means of this attraction it is quite possible that 
these tubes obtained moisture from a lower stratum, which 
the plants not under the discharge were unable to do. 
When the crop was ripe for harvesting, the two plots 
were cut, thrashed, and weighed separately, showing the 
remarkable difference of 31 per cent. in grain and 63 per 
cent. in straw in favour of the electrified oats. The general 
