ELECTRICITY

Lake County Press, Issue 2794, 17 July 1919, Page 5

ELECTRICITY

In Poultry Raising 1 . Experiments have lately been carried out on a poultry farm in the South of England, with such remarkable results that intensified chicken-rearing by means of electricity will undoubtedly be tried on a much larger scale in future. Seventy-five chickens were electrified on this particular farm, the current being applied for 10 minutes every hour during the day. Six chickens only, out of a total of 400, died, and the remainder were ready for the market in five weeks, as against three months normally. The electrified chickens grew at double the usual rate, thus doubling the output of the farm and halving the food bill per chicken. Not only, however, in regard to poultry-raising, but also in connection with the growing of crops is electricity proving invaluable, some remarkable results being cited by a writer in a recent publication, wherein he interestingly shows bow electricity can be applied to home life as well as to commerce and business. By an arrangement of wires, making a network abont 16 feet above the gjound, electricity is discharged into the soil. The result in one case was that in a certain wheat crop there was a gain in the number of bushels per acre from the electrified plot of 40 per cent ns against the unelectrifled lot adjourning. Furthermore, it obtained per cent better market prices, producing better baking flour. The cost of the electricity worked out approximately at one penny a day. Similar electrical treatment to growing crops produced 17 percent increase in cucumbers, 36 per cent in strawberries, 83 per cent in beet, SL. per cent in carrots, and 18 per cent in tomatoes, whilst other vegetables were also ready for market earleir than nonelectrified.