24 



BULLETIN 1379, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Table 24. — Results of electrocultural treatment of potato varieties at Dumfries , 

 Scotland, by Dudgeon in 1911 and 1912 



Variety 



Yield (tons) 



Variety 



Yield (tons) 



Treated 



Control 



Treated 



Control 



llingleader 



8.05 

 11.72 



5.85 

 9.88 





8.74 

 11.79 



8. 12 



Windsor Castle. 





10.31 









In 1912 further experiments at Dumfries were carried on in another 

 field, exposed to wind from any quarter. Two corners of the 4 

 acres were treated, the others left as controls. No difference in 

 yield was recorded, and it is explained that probably all plats are to 

 be regarded as treated plats. 



In 1915 Dudgeon conducted an experiment with oats. The crop 

 was grown on ground that had been used for similar experiments 

 on potatoes for three years. Two adjacent plats of 1^ acres each 

 were separated by a well-grounded wire screen 3 feet higher than the 

 charged network. A sensitive electrometer showed that the screen 

 reduced the leakage over the control plat but did not altogether 

 prevent it. The season was dry and the crop was not heavy. From 

 early stages the treated plat showed a marked superiority in com- 

 parison with the control, and did not suffer from the prevailing 

 drought to the same extent. The electrical discharge was applied 

 about five hours each day for 108 days. The weights (pounds) 

 recorded at harvest were as follows: Treated — grain, 1,309, straw 

 2,476; control— grain 1,008, straw 1,572. 



These figures indicate an increase of about 30 per cent in grain 

 and about 58 per cent in straw. Analyses of the grain from the two 

 plats showed practically no difference in quality. 



Blackman and Jorgensen (6) have also reported experiments by 

 Dudgeon at Dumfries, Scotland, with oats. In a 9-acre field 1 acre 

 was selected for treatment and two half-acre plats for controls. 

 The distance between the silicon-bronze wires of the netw r ork w r as 4.5 

 yards. Current of 3 amperes at 50 volts was supplied to the primary 

 circuit, giving a greater intensity of discharge than that obtained 

 in the experiments of the previous years. The discharge w T as started 

 just as soon as the crop appeared above ground, and within a month 

 a marked difference was noted. The treated plants had deeper color 

 and were higher than the control plants. Throughout the season the 

 treated crop w r as 5 to 10 inches higher than the control. Plants 

 around the network also showed the effect of the discharge. The 

 total application from April 14 to August 17, daytime only, was 848 

 hours. Heavy rains did a good deal of damage. The comparative 

 yields w T ere as shown in Table 25. 



Table 25. — Results of electrochemical treatment of oats at Dumfries, Scotland, by 

 Dudgeon, as reported by Blackman and Jorgensen 





Yields (pounds) 



Field 



Grain 



Straw 





Quality 1 



Quality 2 



Bunches 



Total 



Per bunch 





630 

 1,942 



714 



210 

 695 

 210 



99 

 316 

 103 



1,218 

 4,924 

 1,401 



12.3 



Treated (acre).. 



15.6 



Control 2 (half acre) 



13.6 







