The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-05-11
NEW-FANGLED FARMING.
Some Novel Experiments in Forcing the
Growth of Vegetables by Steam and
Electricity,
From the New York Sun

Some Novel Experiments. I'm Forcing the
Growth of Vegetables by Steam and
Electricity.
[From the New York SUM-
A New Jersey agriculturist is secretly
experimenting upon the growth of vege-
tables by means of steam pipes under
ground, and has produced potato plants
fifteen inches high in a fortnight The
potatoes are, however, small in COM
parison to the plant, and he proposes
renewed attempts, with a view of es-
tablishing proper equilibrium. The
use OF steam pipes in forcing plants has
been in practice many years. The
novelty lies in the gentleman's peculiar
application of the system. He intends,
also, soon to try the effect of electricity.
The first known trials in this country
upon the growth of vegetation by cleo
tricity were made in March, 1S41, by
Mr.. Il. L. Pell, wealthy land proprie-
tor on the Hudson River, near HYDE
Park, whose Newtown pippins have long
been noted in the New York market.
His orchards now comprehend 10000
apple trees, all of the above description.
He was also the first in this country to
raise fish from the egg. Prof. Morse gave
him instructions regarding the applica-
ton of electricity to his purposes, and he
departed for Hyde Park. Mr.. Pell first
gave attention to growth in sand, which
he placed, to the depth of foot,
in a box three feet square. He planted
in row a potato, some wheat, rye,
oats, and barley kernels, and a Madeira
vine, and suspended over them, to the
height of an inch, a copper wire an inch
thick. This wire was soldered at one
end to a piece of copper-plate about an
inch square and an eighth of an inch
thick, and at the other to a similarly
sized piece of zinc. These formed the
positive and negative batteries, but
neither quite touched the soil. The
weather being cold, the box was placed
in covered hot-bed, and the batteries
were constantly stimulated by an cleo
trio machine. The sand under the wire
was in a highly electrified state, and
within fortnight the plants pushing
from the seed reached height of fif
teen inches.
Another process was by placing sand
in pots, of one, two, or three quarts,
with copper-plate at the top and a
zinc-plate at the bottom. A hole was
made in the former to allow the egress
of the plant, and one in the latter to
permit the escape of the water with
which the sand was occasionally moist
ened. A wire was carried outside of
the pots from the copper to hole in the
side, an inch from the bottom, where it
communicated with the zine inside.
The object of not allowing the wire to
extend to the bottom of the pot was to
prevent its coming in contact with the
water. No necessity existed for wire
within the pot. The sand completed
the electric circuit, begun by the wire
outside, and, without the use of ma
chine, the grain grew with rapidity equal
to that in the box.
Another experiment was without the
use of electric batteries. A number of
wheat kernels were placed on sheet Of
window-glass, fourteen inches square.
A thin layer of straw was placed on
them, and on this transverely other
layers, to the height of three inches.
Over these and the glass cords were
wound to keep them in place. The ap-
paratus was set on the soil of a covered
hot-bed, and the straw was kept con-
stantly moist. Decomposition setinwith-
in day or two, and the seeds began to
germinate. In five days from the COW
ering, young plants began to show them
selves above the straw, and in three
weeks more, height of fourteen inches
was reached. The roots spread wide
on the glass, and rose into the straw,
and by turning the glass over, their
complex windings and interlacings
could be seen. The seeds found in the
straw the chemical properties which
they themselves contained and required
for development.
In the following June, Mr.. Pell placed
in the open air row of young tomato
plants. At one end was a sheet of cop
per an eighth of an inch thick, fourteen
inches wide, and four feet long. 1t was
embedded two feet in the ground in an
erect position, leaving two feet in the
air. A zinc plate of the same size was
similarly treated at the other end. A
wire was laid from the top of one, forty
feet, to the top of the other, being raised
sufficiently by poles to enable horses to
plough under it. No wire was laid un-
der the ground, as the earth completed
the circuit. An abundance of manure
was applied, ,and the plants matured and
bore small, ripe tomatoes, an inch in
diameter, in week. These were fol-
lowed by three other weekly crops of
the same sized fruit within month. 1t
was not necessary to limit the width Of
the tract to forty feet. The copper and
zinc sheets could as well have been
placed a mile apart. The earth would
equally well have formed a circuit.