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In 1924, Georges Lakhovsky devised his Oscillator Circuit, a one-turn copper coil with overlapping ends separated by a gap which builds up capacitance and generates oscillating currents of FIGURE 1: PLASTIC | Post benefit to plants. The ring is supported by an insulator such as a plastic rod. This extremely simple arrangement stimulates plant growth to an extraordinary degree. (Ref.: G. Lakhovsky, The Secret of Life, W. Heinemann, London, 1939.) (Figure 1) Other configurations also enhance plant growth: a conical coil of stiff wire wound with nine turns (counter-clockwise in the Northern hemisphere; clockwise south of the equator) and stuck in the ground one foot north of the plant, will collect atmospheric energies. Wire fences can be converted by connecting wire to a metal rod sunk at least one foot into the Earth near the plants. A TV antenna also can be used in this way. Rebar (the steel rein- forcement rods used in ferrocement construction) are very useful. Sink rebar three feet into the ground at each end of the row(s) of plants—preferably in a north-south orientation that will take advantage of the geomagnetic polarity—and run a bare wire under the soil beneath the plants and/or in the air. (Figure 2) Experimental study of the effects of electricity on plant growth began in 1746 when Dr Maimbray of Edinburgh treated myrtle plants with the output of an electrostatic generator, thereby enhancing their growth and blossoming. Two years later, the French abbot Jean Nolet found that plants respond with accelerated rates of germination and overall growth when cultivat- ed under charged electrodes. In 1898, the Finnish scientist Selim Laemstrom experimented with an aerial system powered by a Wimshurst generator and Leyden jars. He found that electrical discharge from wire points stimulated the growth of plants. These results were confirmed in 1907 by the Swiss priest J. J. Gasner. The Laemstrom system comprises a horizontal antenna suspended high enough to permit ploughing, weeding and irrigation. The voltage applied to the antenna varies between 2 kV and 70 kV, depending on the height of the antenna. The current is about 1] amps/em. These conditions produce about 45% increased yields. Experiments should not be conducted during midday or on hot, sunny days, lest the plants be bumt. The soil should be wet at the time to improve current flow. Electro-cultured plants require about 10% more water than control plants, perhaps because the positively-charged water is perspired from the leaves more rapidly than under normal conditions. (Ref.: Lyman Briggs, et al., Bulletin , USDA, no. 1379, January 1926.) (Figure 3) In the 1840s, W. Ross of New York reportedly obtained a sever- alfold increase in the yield of a field of potatoes (compared to con- trol plants) when he buried a copper plate (5 feet by 14 inches) in the Earth, and a zinc plate of the same dimensions buried 200 feet away. The two plates were connected by a wire above ground, thus forming a galvanic cell. (Ref.: W. Ross, US Commissioner of Patents Report, vol. 27, p. 370, 1844.) Similar experiments were performed by Holdenfleiss in 1844; he used copper and zinc plates which were charged with a battery. Yields were increased up to 25%. In the 1920s, V. H. Blackman reported his experiments with an acrial system similar to that of Laemstrom. He applied a charge of 60 volts DC at one milliamp through 3 steel wires each 32 feet long and suspended 6 feet apart and 7 feet high on poles. This arrangement yielded an average increase of up to 50% for various plant types. (Ref: V. H. Blackman, Journal of Agricultural Science, vol. 14, pp. 240-86, 1924.) In 1964, the US Dept of Agriculture performed tests at the University of California, where a negative electrode was placed high in a tree, and the positive electrode was connected to a nail driven into the base of the trunk. Stimulation with 60 volts DC substantially increased leaf density on electrified branches after one month. Over a period of a year, leaf growth was 300% greater than on non-electrified branches. (Ref.: A. D. Moore, Electrostatics and its Applications, Wiley & Sons, 1972.) Electricity also can cure trees. A method was developed in 1966 to treat avocado trees affected with canker and orange trees with scaly bark. An electrode was inserted into the living cambi- um and phloem layers of the tree and the current passed into the WIRE MESH FENCE PAA INACE NEXUS#39 ANTENNA SYSTEMS THE LAKHOVSKY COIL ELECTROSTATIC SYSTEMS FEBRUARY - MARCH 1994 DIRECT CURRENT SET-UPS . FIGURE 2: ANTENNA SYSTEMS