The St. Johns herald., 1891-11-26
SCIENCE AND FUN.
Experiments with Electricity by
 California Experts.
They Use the Current to Encourage the Maturity of Fruit and Meet with UnIooked-fOr
 Results.

The San Francisco Call recently chronicled the interesting experiments of Mai. Frank Mclaughlin, of Oroville, in applying electricity to fruit trees to force the rapid maturity of fruit. The reports have made profound impress sion in agricultural circles. Among those most impressed, says the Marys- vile Democrat, was prominent mine owner and speculator, residing above Nevada City, Nevada county. who brides himself on being a scientist, but is somewhat nearsighted and wears long-range eyeglasses. He came to Nevada City Friday and induced two other gentlemen to join him, one of them a merchant and the other bank CT, and they started for Oroville, driv- ing a good team. At Smartsville they took in a mining expert to make the load balance evenly, and after rest of a couple of hours in this city drove on and arrived at Oroville little after dark.
 When the matter of the application of electricity to fruit trees was mentioned they were assured that the effect of the application could be much better seen and understood at night when quite dark-in fact, one citizen said that if it was real dark. such as is produced by fog, the electricity could be made to sparkle at the extreme ends of the limbs. Of course, the citizens of Oroville are of progressive and entertaining nature and when prominent strangers visit them they naturally show them the sights, and while waiting for the moon to retire one Saturday evening the wis itors became jovial and quite happy. In the meantime some of the active spirits of the town fixed up little job, which, in the outcome, worked little too well. They picked out the residence of late lawmaker, who has a fine lot of growing fruit trees, as a place to show the effect of electricity on the growing fruit. Some wire was attached to the trees and several Chinese bombs were planted near the first experiment tree. Each one had fuse so arranged that when fire was applied they would explode one after the other. Shortly after midnight, when the good people were in bed and quietly slumbering, the party of scientists started from the Union hotel and were soon at the expert ment grounds, and, after considerable explanation as to how the shock should affect the fruit, and that Maj. Me Laughlin had now gone east to perfect a patent on the invention, the work commenced. The mining man from Nevada county, who is something of a story-teller, had just finished telling of the royal time had at the last meet ing of the Woodpecker club, when one of the Oroville scientists touched the warm end of lighted cigar to the fuse which was just back of the story-teller. They were directed to look up into the tree and observe the effect, which they did just as the first bomb exploded, and it was followed in quick succession by four more. By the time the second ex. ploSion took place the owner of the property came out with gun, and of course, the scientists left the scene, and they didn't retire in good order, as may be readily understood. The noise was terrific, and the people rushed in the direction of the explosion. The officers saw two men running down the street away from the noise, and they were placed under arrest and it proved to be the banker and merchant from Nevada City. Of course the matter was smoothed over and hushed up, and the scientists hitched up their team and drove to Marysville. Each one of them was broke and had to draw money while here, obtaining it from the First national bank.