The Electricity Of The Soil

Weak currents of electricity continually pass through the soil and through the plants it nourishes. In recent years the effect of soil electricity on plant growth has been studied quite thoroughly. The practical value of passing moderate currents of electricity over and through the soil by means of wires has been demonstrated in several European and American fields. For this specific purpose Messrs. R. & B. Bomford, near Evesham, England, have 19 acres of land with wires suspended 16 feet above the ground so as not to interfere with steam plowing. The current discharged from the wires is generated by a dynamo. This treatment is said to increase the yields of barley and wheat 25 per cent, and give a still larger increase of straw. It makes the plants germinate quicker and grow lustier. The current is turned on morning and evening until harvest. In our own country, several small fields and greenhouse soils have been treated with electricity from wires sunk in the soil, with decidedly beneficial results. The U. S. Department of Agriculture is making a special study of this matter.

Most of the beneficial effect of electricity is probably due to the fact that it makes some of the plant foods more soluble; perhaps, also, it enables the plants to take some nitrogen from the air. Only weak currents can be used; a strong current kills the plants. It is quite doubtful whether the benefit derived from the use of a weak current will make it profitable to use electricity in general crop production, for the expense of wiring a field is large; but it may be useful in greenhouses.