ELECTROCULTURE 



13 



Table 15. — Yields of rye on plats following electrocultural treatments (alternating 

 charge), section A, Arlington Experiment Farm, in 1915 



Plat 



Yields (pounds) 



Ratio of treated 

 to control 





Shock 



Grain 



Shock 



Grain 



Eastern half: 

 Treated 



1,270 

 868 



1,392 

 890 



2,662 



1,758 



469 

 363 



512 

 337 



981 

 700 



} 1.46 

 | 1.56 

 \ 1.51 







1.29 



Western half: 



Treated.. .. . 







1.52 



Total: 



Treated 







1.40 









Experiments in 1916. — Rye was again sown in section A in the 

 fall of 1915 and allowed to mature without electric treatment. This 

 crop was cut in June, 1916, giving the yields shown in Table 16, the 

 north plat being the plat treated during the two preceding years. 



Table 16. — Yields of rye on plats without electrocultural treatments, section A, 

 Arlington Experiment Farm, in 1916 



Plat 



Yields (pounds) 



Ratio of north 

 to south 





Shock 



Grain 



Shock 



Grain 



Eastern half: 



North 



1,802 



557 

 409.5 



590.5 

 393.5 



1, 147. 5 

 803.0 



} 1.36 

 } 1.54 

 } 1.44 





South 



1,328 



1,892 

 1,230 



3,694 

 2,558 



1.36 



Western half: 



North... 





South 



1.50 



Total: 



North 





South 



1.43 







SUMMARY OF EXPERIMENTS IN SECTION A 



A comparison of the yields obtained in the field trials in section 

 A gives no evidence of an increased yield accompanying the use of 

 an alternating charge on the network. 



ELECTROCULTURAL EXPERIMENTS IN THE PLANT HOUSE 



TRANSPIRATION 



The effect of a very high potential gradient on the transpiration 

 rate w T as investigated in plant-house experiments in Washington in 

 1913. Large galvanized-iron buckets were filled with moist soil 

 and fitted with special covers to prevent evaporation from the soil. 

 Six rooted geranium cuttings were planted in each pot through 

 holes in the cover, the opening around the stem of the plant being 

 sealed with wax. 



The initial weights were taken on February 15, 1913, and the 

 plants were allowed to grow until February 20 without treatment, 

 to determine the relative transpiration of two sets of six pots each. 

 One set w r as then placed under an insulated frame covered with 

 galvanized-wire screen of 3^-inch mesh, while the control set was 

 protected from the discharge by being placed inside a Faraday 



