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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 7, 1908)
7r kow is tlhe Wonder off Admiring Thousands THE OMAHA PAHA KEEt TlUTKsnAV. MAY 7. 1 r f i s t - SUN YIELDS TO ELECTRICITY Very Lateit Development in Modern Experimental Science. 7EGETATI0N BY ABC LIGHT Itadlo-f Harr la ! Jfamr that la Olvra ta lav w IrM'n of AnnBlaaHasj l Kara of the aa. 'Klwtrto ally rlppnrd 1rawbrr1ps;" "Try our arr-lniiip U'lturea;" '"Insist on having; HTtrlmlly grown violets: do not ba 1m hw1 tfjin by the sun-raised flomer." urh may be nm of tha announcements which may mwt the eye of 111 system of I'lnnt rroWlnu undrr electric light de-s.-rlbed by Mpr. R. I,. Ilanln and CT. Mark Kiittall. B Br., In the WorM'l Work London for' April, develops the commer c lal rionsihilltles of wtilrli it gives promise. A Ion o as 1S the eminent Knallsli arli-ntlat, fir William Flemons. exhibited to a meeting of the rtoval aorlety some ftraabcrrlca which had been brought to tx-rfcrtlon by the rnys of an arc lamp, and Inter Ptof. Lemstrotn demonstrated that not only the flowera, but the rooN also of plants could be powerfully stimulated by the electric current. Hllharto, however, Investigations In thin field have been mainly confined fo tS" laboratory, and neither the market gHrdcner nor the wealthy amateur plant grower has taken up the matter ee rloiiHly. Tim method described in the World a 'Work Is that of Mr. II. W. Thaait". a civil riialne'r of many yearn' experience, and II 1s IxMaldoil In the folj lowing ftlowlrq: terms: Nnbatllate for Nunllaht. "U has born proved birrnd a ehailnw of a doubt that the beams from an electric bio, lamp form a Vrnanrmble aiihstltute for (untight and a very good one at that. I 'ruler this new aystem the pro ductiveness of the plant Is enormously in cieaaed. especially during the winter months. The production of a plant In November and December 's Increased four mid rlalit and one-half times re spectively. The significance of this cannot b" gainsaid, for tinder' this rystem the prower l placed practically on the same footing m tnvied competitor In Cali fornia. Should tle.e rosy expectations be tealized In actual prai'tlce. the prospect opened Is surely o uost nlluring one. The hugo Impciit.ttluiia . "f foreign material would be ulmv.Mt unwarranted hi a country which haJ an unlimited store of uctll'icial ' sunshine at lt command. The Britiflh grower would be placed in a strong posi tion that -he could. ylwltli the utmost composure the efforta of his rtvala to get the best of him on t!(e markets in fact, something like a millennium In the horti cultural world would have been reached." The chief , characteristic of Mr. Thwalte'a project la Ita extreme simplicity, while at the, same tlnra it is far and away the most practical tlwt ha yet been advanced. 1t appears that the feeding, heating and light lug of the plants are all accomplished by mean of u gas engine, A water jacket on the engine provide the. heat and the per fect Illumination of each part of every plant Is secured by the aid of an arc lamp, which la slowly moved all round the glass house and which can lie placed In any po sition. It Is claimed that the cost of heat ing by this plan la much less than by the ordinary furnace and boiler. Interest lag; Tests at Cornell. In sptaklng of the numerous experiments that have been made the writers In the World's Work refer to the notable series conducted at the Cornell I'nlverslty Agri cultural station. "Hero a variety of market-garden plants, such as lettuce, endive, radishes, beets, spinach, cauliflower, were selected for op eration and placed In a cool glass house. Thla house was divided Into two compart ments In such a way that a large electric lamp auopended outside and lighted by the ord'nary street system could Illuminate one compartment and not the other. During the day the whole house was exposed to daylight, but when night came one com partment was flooded with electric light and the other remained In a state of dark uesa. Afler 11 o'clock at night both compartments were dark till daybreak. The best results were obtained with let tuce, and spinach was In a month 10 to 15 per cent better than that grown In the or dinary way. Violets, daisies and other flowers bloomed more profusely and con siderably earlier when stimulated for some hours nightly by the electric light. Waal H aa Been Dove In Pnrla. In Paris some experiments were con ducted under very different conditions. A selection of plants, such as the water Illy, geranium, sycamore,' pes. strawberry, maixe, etc., was kept In the covered market hall under suitable conditions as regards ventilation and moisture. The arc lamps were ther turned on and kept alight un ceasingly for six months. The results proved that continuous light tended not to stimulate, but to stunt the plants. One very curious condition was, however. In ducedall the plants were Intense'.y green. This question of color is dealt with by Mr. Clarke Nuttall In a separate paper In the same number of the World's Work. All kinds of plants, such as oaks, maize, geraniums, flax and strawberries, were grown tinder red. green and blue glass and In the ordinary transparent glass house. "The net results of all experiments was that In the red light the plants flourished exceedingly and far outstripped their con temporaries in the normal class, while they were poles apart from the plants that had been assigned to the blue light, which had made no appreciable growth.. In the green glass-house plants took up an intermediate position; sometimea they were larger, sometimes smaller, than the normal; mostly they were inferior either In stockl ncss or health." Tower to Change .Nature, It was also found possible to change the color, shape, and sixc of leaves by varying the rays of the spectrum that Illuminated them. It has also been found that the production of acent by a plant can be con siderably Increased by colored raya of light. "In red light strawberry fruita have a most powerful strawberry odor, far sur passing that of the normal fruits, while the little crassula, which has naturally lit tle - or no acent to boast of, haa a, de licious fragrance almost like that of a banana. The acent remains when the plants are gathered and placed In a room." Radio-culture, aa this system of plant growing under colored glass la railed, i still In the experimental stage; but It n. ready suggests the building of red-colored glass-houses for forcing. The light Itscll will supply the stimulus without additional heating and manuring. And, more -Important still, as blue light Is found to present the plants in a stationary condition. , "Instead of attempting to force plantr Into maturity out of due season, might ll not be possible to take them when matur ally blooming and keep them for longer or shorter times unchanged by Its means. Why not retarding, rather than forcing, houses." - LIGHT CURE FOR PAIN Five Hanilrtl Candle Power Dnea What Medlrlne Will Not Do. Experiments are In progress at the New Tork Skin and Cancer hospital for the al leviation of pain by the use of Intense light. So far the physicians are unwilling to express any definite opinions aa fo Ita efficacy, and content themselves by saytng that their hospital tries every device which promises to be of assistance In curing or al leviating cancer. The resulta with the "light cure," however. have been suffi ciently satisfactory to Induce them to continue the experiments. The patient Is subjected to what Is known as the lucldescent light. It Is the ordinary electric light of 60 candle power, focused by parabolic reflectors on two spots. It Is turned upon the seat of pain for fifteen or twenty minutes at a. time, and much care has to be taken to prevent the burning of the flesh. The treatment Is repeated two or three times at Intervals of three or four hours, and In many cases the pain Is reduced or driven away for several hours afterward. So far the hospital physicians say they cannot explain In what way the light acts. They do not think It has any therapeutic value aside from the relief from patn. but they find It very useful for that. One of them said that he tried It upon himself for a raging toothache, and had found It drove the pain away for several hours. New York Times. ew Cable In w Tork Harbor. A government cable was laid, replacing the damaged cable from the New Tork barge office to Castle William, last week by the cable ship Cyrus W. Field. It took the Field twenty-two minutes to run out the 3.400 feet of cable, and thirty-five min utes to haul the old damaged cable In. The Field Is an odd looking craft, with a hugu reel aft for the winding onof cables. It patrols the coast from Maine to Fort Mon roe, with the sole duty of looking out for the government cables. The craft belongs to what might be termed the army'a navy for the secretary of war has a mighty fleet under him. The Best Show Is The Electrical Show WILL YOU HAVE A SLICE? COULD YOU ASK US FOR A BETTER PROPOSITION? If we should hand you two dollar for every one you hand us? That in Just our argument and we certainly prove it up tvhru we tell you that our Electric Piano lMay era (coin operated) absolutely pay for themselves, besides pay you a handsome bonus every month. Our Klectrlc Piano Players are conceded by every one who has seen and heard them to be the ItKHT on the market. They are perfection mechanically and send forth the beautiful tone shades of an ar tist. They are always ready to play never tire out. They furinsh you music any time without cost. M'e have Electric Pianos that play entirely through the vacuum system with a perforated music roll which is cut perfectly to corresKtnd with the touch required. The music is played in an endless roll; it never plays out. No automatic reverse or rewind to get out of order. They are always ready to play when played either by hand or coin In the slot. Agency for Ilerry Wood, Peerless, Standard, Klectrola and others. Easy terms if desired. NOW IS THE TIME TO GET BUSY. Catalogue for the asking. Schmoller & Mueller Piano Go,, 1311-1313 Farnam St, Omaha, Neb. FTEIi THE BUSINESS man or manufacturer has ac jUL luanted himself with the usefulness and practicability of electricity in the home, thorough examination of our exhibit, it will pay him to let us figure on furnishing him electric power for business. It is even more practical and useful here than in the home. And so much cheaper than other power. ! Omaha Electric Light , Power Company Your Lofty Sentiments Are Expressed Through Yeur Home Furnishings Iiuy a beautiful Art Canopy for the dining room Ask about this one There's a special price on ' it It's a dandy, too, 6 lights 24-lnch spread Exclusive Lamp Designs Time does not fade the beauty of the truly artistic" ''-'long association with an object which possesses this characteristic brings a fuller appreciation of its perfection. And we love instinc tively the article which shows the master touch"" that attribute in which lie indi viduality and charm. In the great Eastern shops--factories which we represent exclusively artist workmen have fashioned into enhancing form their beautiful conceptions for the Evening Lamp. Every one is a realiza tion in metal of an artistic life thought, and the story is told but once---there are no duplicates. The sentiment of the evening lampbest illus trated in our display of these distinctive forms will afford interest for those who value exclusive ness and individuality in selections for the home. You'll find you have made a mistake if you fail to select your fixtures before building. Let us give you some of our ideas' fixtures is our businessall our time is devoted to this line"-our advice is valuable and it's free. We take this opportunity to inform the public our busi ness has grown to such proportions that it can no longer be con ducted in pur present quarters. We have therefore leased the west one- third of the new three-story building at 15070941 Howard street The Omaha Gas Co. will occupy the east two4hirds. All our stock is offered at ridiculously low prices from now until date of moving, June 1st. The low marks on our stock will surprise you and we will say to those who contemplate purchasing fixtures of any description tha though you are not quite ready to use them, you may avail yourself of this sale and articles thus purchased will be cared for until you need them. It will pay prospective purchasers to bear this in mind and act accordingly. Eastern factories have consigned to us, for exhibition at the Electrical Show, a large number of the finest Domes, Canopies and Electric Lamps ever shown in the west. We are authorized to dispose of these at specially low prices when the show is concluded. See them in Booth A at the Electric Show. Wholesale and Retail Gas and Electric Fixtures 313 South Fifteenth Street My? - a i& rgess-Grander Co. 3 THE VOTE ON THE Ell At South Omaha yesterday was: ii Ml UUilUVL 8 Fr Apfast This shows how the people feel and which company is getting the business. Go to the Electrical show and see the Auto matic switchboards work. You will then un derstand why everyone wants our secret ser vice. Independent Telephone- Co. fl FT71 TTY 77 a n H Ell AND ALL KINDS OF FOR "EVERY THE OMAHA GUNNING SYSTEM PROMOTERS OF OUT-DOOR PUBLICITY 140.9 HARNEY ST.