St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-07-17


But it is one of the contradictions of
things that. while the most enlightened
and humane country Oh the globe is eX-
perimenting with the subtle fluid for
the barbarouS work of destroying life.
in the least civilized and progressive of
the great modern nations this strange
potency is being harnessed in the hui
name work of sustaining life. Tests
are being made along the line of vege-
table growth. NJ. SPECHNEFF, a sci
enlist with a comparatively rational
name for Russian, is the genius that
is working out the problem of growth
by electrical force. This statement is
found in recent foreign news:
Following the experiments of FETCHNER
in applying electricity to vegetation, a Rus
sian agriculturist, N. SPEcHNEFF. is reported
TO have MADE trial of seeds which he eiec-
trified for two minutes by means of eur
rent. repeating the operation ten times upon
peas, beans, rye, etc. He found that, gener-
ally. the electriZation of seeds nearly
doubled the rapidity of their growth. lie
then tried TO electric the earth. He took
large plates of zinc and copper. II centime-
tiers Us inches) high, and - Us inches) wide,
which were sunk deep into the ground at the
extremity of fiat iron bars and connected
above the ground by an iron wire. The eff
feet Of this continuous current is stated to be
prodigious upon vegetables. radish grew
A eentimeters Q7.3 inches) in length, with
a diameter of II centimeters (5l2 inches) and
a carrot27 centimeters 106 inches) in diam
eter weighed kilogrammes (66 pounds:
nor did this excess in size detract from their
good quality.
In Finland the experiments extended
to wheat field. One-half of given
area was subjected to the influence, by
means of parallel wires with points eX-
tending downward. The current was
supplied from a dynamo at a little dis
lance. The result was that the wheat
in the section operated upon outgrew
the rest of the field by big per cent.
If these reports are not subject to ma
terial discount, the Imagination may
reach out to almost any limit In presag-
ing the developments to ensue from
this discovery. All the other processes
that have been put in connection with
electricity fade into meagerness in
comparison. In this latitude, for in
stance, it will be a virtual extension of
the growing season two or three times.
There can be multiplied crops of the
small fruits and vegetables. 1t will not
be necessary to send to Georgia for
watermelons in June, and home straw
berries will be ready a mouth earlier.
Many of the semi-trOpical products
can be pushed to maturity before the
frostS take them. Then, when it is
evolved with so small cost as it no
doubt will be, it will pay to APP
ply it to ali field crops. and it
II ha To 70 g,,,F boI
the area for the present production.
Those who have forebodings from the
census statistics of the countries that
there will be too many people in the
world to be fed easily, Will be relieved.
With rain produced by dynamite explo-
siOns in the air, and electricity in the
earth pushing on the growth with its
own pace, all the deserts of the past
will be teeming GASES. Then, with what
is known and guessed at as to the part
electricity plays in animal economy, it
is plausibly anticipated that it may be
applied to animal as well as vegetable
life. The small pig may have the grow
ing passage accelerated and in a brief
time become the marketable hog. The
calf may become the generous milk
giver or beef animal on short time table.
The long months that the farmer waits
for the transformation of MS corn into
pork or his hay into beef or butter will
be but weeks. 1t may not be visionary,
from the Russian or some other data. to
look for the extension to the human
animal. The infant may be put into
the electrical trot and become devel-
oped physical individual in a short
time. Possibly the reputed first par
ents may be illustrations. JONAH's
gOurd was perhaps the result Of some
electrical influence. 1t is too soon to
borrow trouble lest the human growth
be carried too far and the giants return.
The dreams of the past have been put
in the shade by the present develop
ments, and no one is endowed with the
discernment too see the end OF the
realiZations.