, Electro- Culture. 418 



posed by the observations of Dr. Falck in Hesse. He has 

 further been informed that bronchocele is frequent in the 

 districts of Schierke, Lehrbach, and Neuwerk, in the Hercy- 

 nian forest, which are situated on primitive and transition 

 rocks : and similar observations are recorded by Humboldt, 

 De Vert and Iphofen." 



Dr. Falck's negatives, even if based on more complete data, 

 cannot affect the positive results of Mr. McClelland; they 

 can at most only limit the extent of their general appli- 

 cation.— J. M. P. 



ELECTRO-CULTURE. 



(From the Agricultural Gazette.) 



I am obliged to you for having inserted, and to your corres- 

 pondent, " A. H.," for having written the letter that appears in your 

 Gazette of the 17th instant, for these reasons: — 1st. It affords me 

 an opportunity of laying before your readers a few of the facts and 

 experiments both ancient and modern, for and against the assertion 

 that plants are influenced by electricity, artificially applied. 2ndly. 

 It enables me to give some rules to be observed in the height of 

 poles and size of plots, &c. ; and lastly, to correct errors that have 

 crept into the various papers and journals, when speaking on this 

 subject. 



Your correspondent, " A. H.," places much importance on the 

 period of Ingenhouss's experiments and book (with a variation, 

 however, in so short a letter, of ten years). If your readers will 

 refer to the '* Encyclopaedia Britannica," vol. vii., pages 800 and 

 801, they will find that one of the earliest experimenters on plants 

 with electricity was Mr. Maimbray, of Edinburgh, in 1746 ; and as 

 far as he went, they were decidedly in favour of its utility in pro- 

 moting growth and earlier development ; also, see " Priestley's 

 History," Part 8, section 4. The next of the earlier savans who 

 studied this subject was the Abbe" Nollet, as detailed in his '* Re- 

 cherches," and in " Priestley's History." He made " some compara- 



