The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1912-02-08

Iea5 OF vegetation on this little plot will be
watched with keen interest FOR It may point
the way to helping the farmers Of the future
in important respects and even may be the
nedus of making some of them independent
Of climate
Of course it is not sought to convey the i'm
preston that the present undertaking by the
United States department of agriculture at its
most important experiment farm is the first
effort to make electricity useful on the farm.
Public as well as private enterprise invaded
that field long ago and thus we find today
many farmers in various parts of the country
developing electricity for home consumption
by means Of power plants right on the prem
ises. the energy for generating being supplied
by the gasoline engines which are becoming
so common in the rural districts or through
the Harvesting OF water power which has been
done successfully on many farms. More
over. the electricity thus generated is not used
merely for illumination, etc, inside the farm
buildings Progressive farmers and dairymen
have adapted the twentieth century power TO
many tasks that had formerly to be done bv
human hands-as, for example, milking and
churnng and feed cutting
But Uncle Sans new venture in electric
farming pursues quite a different path This
latest function of the magic current is not to
suppant manual labor but to assist nature
To particularize, IN popular form, it may be
explained that the idea is to have electricity
supplement sunlight in its influence uDon
growing crops The artificial warmth and
glow will be called into play as proxy for the
burning beams from the orb above on DAVIS
whsn there is no sunlight and in the morn.
ings and evenings Of the short winter DAYS
when old Sol is working shorter hours than
in midsummer Perhaps electricity cannot
ever be expected to prove so great a stin1uIus
y Is nj I;o,t
preliminary experiments have proven that il
will help some and the object of Uncle Sans
present undertaking is to determine Just how
much assistance electricity will render under
the conditions Of soil and climate etc, which
confront the average American farmer
The reader might naturally suppose if he
hasn't been informed otherwise that if Uncle
Sam was going to employ electricity to coun-
tcr'eit sunheams he would do it by calling
into use powerful electric lights. which seem
TO he about the next best thing to sunlight
In brilliancy Well that the way it was
done by several of the leading scientists Of
Euroro |Ho have rather gotten ahead of rs
IN such ',-,s They hung big arc lamps in
greenhouse and they heightened the growing
day for plants and vegetables by flooding the
hot houses with light for several hours after
shutdown each day The result was that one
prominent foreigner has produced splendid
would have hecn possible had nature been al.
lowed to take her own course and our own
Cornell university in New York state was
equally successful in hurrying the growth Of
lettuce Gadishes and other vegetables by this
same method But Uncle Sam is not going to
follow bindy in this beaten path He is TAX
ing a new tack
The principle Of Uncle Sans new electric
farm We may call enc miniature wheat
field FARMS to employ the electric current
itself ana not the electric lamDs to spur nature
in her work This is interesting IN itself and
the project will be Of added value In its re-
suits from the fact that the growing under
electricity is to GO on out Of doors instead OF
in the artificial atmosphere Of a hot house
Moreover, in order to approximate average
conditions the experts OF Uncle Sans bureau
of plant industry have chosen as the scene
OF their experiment, not prize farm, but a
tract on the largest experiment farm of the
United States department Of agriculture locat-
ed near Arlington Virginia This land was
formerly part Of the historic estate of Rob
ert z. Lee, the Confederate general, but it was
neglected for many years after the var and
it cannot be said to offer more than average
opportunities for tfllinc If they be that good
The appearance Of Uncle Sans electric
farm is we'll calculated TO rouse the curiosity
Of any chance farmer riding along the road
even If re cid not see the warning signs eau
tionius him that he must not get within four
feet Of he wires carrying current of 100000
volts-electricity powerful enough to do all
sorts Of damage if given the opportunity
What the farmer beholds is a ploWed area
dotted at intervals Of a couple of rods with
slender wooden poles about seven feet in
height At one corner of the field is the so
called power house OF this farm a small
frame building from which leads wire con