Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1893-10-06
ELECTRICITY IN AeR,cu r,,nr
What Has Been Learned T1rou,, a.,
v~e.tiEatiOns of Our Co,.,,s :"

""' NUS .'een Learned Through til. ".
veSttEatiOns of Our Consul. - 'a-
About a year ago the consuls re
United States III foreign countries vna 'Me
rcctcd by the department of state -, " W,I'
ington to collect and send home ali on lush
able information in regard to the . "v.''A'
ment of electricity in agriculture. Thi i'" y
rection was given in accordance with VI
olution of the United States srn,," 'es-
large number of reports on the subj. \
the inquiry ave been received nnjj ,,la"
Just been published by the bureau Of nave
tistics of the state department.. >"'
Most of the reports show that cl.ct,;.:
is not employed in agriculture a, MI ;m,y
consular districts to which they r m,e
There arc u few exceptions, however '''"e'
The inquiry Of the state dcpartm.,t
twofold-first, us to the use of clrctr;.;"as
IL power in the propulsion of farm mnrj; Us
cry md implements, and secondly as n;,
use in the propagation of plants. Erc nus r;a
lty does not seem to be employed ,snms
tive power in agricultural operations in Nv
foreign countries except Belgium and r"H!
land. In Belgium Mr.. A. Dumont hug
large place Mt Chassart, where he carrie ="
scientific farming upon n very cy,nns; w
scale. Here he runs n thrashinc mach;ne
BY means of an electric current. which !"
erts n force equal to IL horsepower md !.
carried over a distance of 1900 feet.
In England all the machinery Mt ,,o
Blythwood electric dairy, belonging to N.Y.
James Blyth Of Stanstead in Essev l.
worked by electricity. The consul general ~
at London writes that this is the only erl
ampleof the use of electricity in connection
with agriculture that has come under his
notice. In this dairy there are said r. ha
nearly 200 of the finest butter producing
Jersey cows in the world, and the scpara.
tors and churns are worked wholly by cler.
tricity, which also furnishes light for ,bo
establishment.
In reference to the influence Of electricity
In the propagation of plants very full re.
ports have been received from Mr.. Albcr,
II. Washburn, United States commercial
agent Mt Magdeburg in Germany, and from
MI: F. NJ. Burton, United States vice con.
sui at Birmingham, England. Mr.. Wash.
burn reviews the various experiments
which have been made by scientific men in
Germany since 1859 on the influence of tina
electric current and the electric light on
plant life. AS to the question whether ar.
officially induced electric currents passing
through the ground are beneficial or in.
furious to vegetation, he declares that it
has not practically been solved up to the
present time in Germany, adding that
while it is true that some few isolated cx-
perlments have been highly favorable to
electricity, those conducted on the most ex.
tensive scale have resulted in very indiifer.
ent success"
AS to the influence of electric light, Mr.
Washburn mentions the experiments of
Mr.. C. w. Sicmens in 1880, Indicating that
the effects of the naked electric light seem.
ed to be injurious to plants, and the expcr.
iments of Mr.. L. p. Deherain in 1881, who
also found that the direct rays of the cleo
trio light were harmful. Mr.. Burton
writes that with the exception of a few eX-
periments by Mr.. Chamberlain there has
been nothing done ut Birmingham in the
application o. electricity to the growth of
plants, but he sends to the state depart
ment n copy of a paper read before the Soci-
ETY. OF Telegraph Engineers in 1880 by Sir
William Siemens, wherein the author de-
scribes experiments which he says 90 to
prove that electric light is efficacious in
promoting the formation of fruit rich in
bloom and aroma. and if these results
should be confirmed the horticulturist will
be able to make himself practically indie
pendent of solar light for producing a high
quality of fruit at all seasons of the year"
1t is to be Noted, however, that, although
ID years have elapsed since this opinion
was expressed, very little progress has been
made in utilizing the electric light for
horticultural purposes.
The results of the inquiry instituted by
the state department, by the direction Of
the senate, show that up to the present
time electricity in agriculture is for the
most part a plaything rather than a prac-
tical agent.-New York Sun.