Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-11-28

The Interesting Discovery Made by . Boston
Truck Gardener.

Inc interesting discovery Made by . Boston
Truck Gardener.
From the Boston Journal.
Experiments upon electricity as affecting
plant growth have been going on for some time
at the Massachusetts Agricultural College at
Amherst, and Prof. Warner, who is giving
great attention to the matter, is preparing q
paper for an agricultural bulletin which will
| not only embody the results of his own expe-
rience. but will give the Investigations lately
made in foreign countries.
Intense interest has been aroused among
Massachusetts farmers and agriculturists by
| the recent publication Of a bulletin from the
| agricultural station Of Cornell University in
| which the declaration is made that expert
ments show that tine electric light can be
profitably used in the growing of plants. In
| the light of this announcement the publication
| OF Prof. Warmers experiments will be looked
| forward to with considerable interest Prof.
Warner has conducted his investigations with
great care and thoroughness, and few persons
outside the college staff have been aware that
experiments were going on. 1t is understood
that important experiments have also been
| made at the college with electric currents
with the end in view Of verifying the expert
ments OF foreign scientists which go to show
that the action OF electric currents upon plants
and vegetables seems to consist in the active
dissolution of the organic principles existing
| in the SOIL which are thereby brought within
| the reach OF the roots, thus causing a more
rapid growth in a shorter period.
Independent of the experiments at the agri-
| cultural college only one private individual in
| the state is known to have experimental with
| the electric light. and that is W. W. Rawson,
| an extensive market gardener in Arlington.
MI. Rawson had his attention drawn to the
effect OF the electric light on plant growth in q
singular manner and by accident. As far as he
| is concerned, therefore, his experiments were
| original with himself and were made long be-
| fore he heard any attention was being paid to
| the subject by foreign or American scientists
| In the fall Of 1889 it SO happened that an cleo
| trio light was erected by the town of Arlington
| for street lighting purposes at point in close
proximity to one side of his residence. On
that side of his house were a number of flower
| beds which never thrived until the rays of the
electric light began to fall upon them. The
| plants soon began to show an unusual change
| Finally they exhibited such q lively and in
| creased growth that they could not fail to
| attract attention, and no reason could be as
signed for the phenomena but the effect of
| the electric light. Determined to push the
| experiment further, Mr.. Rawson introduced
| lights into his extensive hot houses. devoted
| to the winter raising mainly of cucumbers and
lettuce. The marked effect on his crop be-
| came at once very manifest, and the expert
ment was seemingly SO successful during the
| winter of 1889 and 1880 that he fully demon
| strated to his own satisfaction that he could
| raise a larger crop of lettuce cucumbers of
| better quality in q shorter time than he could
| before; in fact, he convinced himself that the
electric light enabled him toincrease his profits
rs per cent over what they had been before.
Last winter he was disappointed in obtaining
electric power and could not make further in.
| designations Meanwhile he corresponded with
scientists at home and abroad and impaired to
them the results he had obtained. He hopes
this winter to resume his experiments ON q
large scale and is making preparations to that
end. He has experimental both with arc
lights and incandescents and has found that the
formor mora af3;ciapf