Artificial Light: Its Influence upon CivilizationLuckiesh, Matthew
History
Artificial Light: Its Influence upon Civilization
Luckiesh, Matthew
Electric lighting; Lighting -- History
There are many other ways in which artificial light may serve in
increasing production. Man has found that eight hours of sleep is
sufficient to keep him fit for work if he has a sufficient amount of
recreation. Before the advent of artificial light the activities of the
primitive savage were halted by darkness. This may have been Nature's
intention, but civilized man has adapted himself to the changed
conditions brought about by efficient and adequate artificial light.
There appears to be no fundamental reason for not imposing an artificial
day upon plants, animals, chemical processes, etc.; and, in fact,
experiments are being prosecuted in these directions.
The hen, when permitted to follow her natural course, rises with the
sun and goes to roost at sunset. During the winter months she puts in
short days off the roost. It has been shown that an artificial day, made
by piecing out daylight by means of artificial light, might keep the hen
scratching and feeding longer, with an increased production of eggs as a
result. Many experiments of this character have been carried out, and
there appears to be a general conclusion that the use of artificial
light for this purpose is profitable.
Experiments conducted recently by the agricultural department of a large
university indicate that in poultry husbandry, when artificial light is
applied to the right kind of stock with correct methods of feeding, the
distribution of egg-production throughout the whole year can be
radically changed. The supply of eggs may be increased in autumn and
winter and decreased in spring and summer. Data on the amount of
illumination have not been published, but it is said that the most
satisfactory results have been obtained when the artificial illumination
is used from sunset until about 9 P. M. throughout the year.
An increase of 30 to 40 per cent. in the number of eggs laid on a
poultry-farm in England as the result of installing electric lamps in
the hen-houses was reported in 1913. On this farm there were nearly 200
yards of hen-houses containing about 6000 hens, and the runs were
lighted on dark mornings and early nights of the year preceding the
report. About 300 small lamps varying from 8 to 32 candle-power were
used in the houses. It was found that an imitation of sunset was
necessary by switching off the 32 candle-power lamps at 6 P. M.
and the 16 candle-power lamps at 9:30. This left only the 8
candle-power lamps burning, and in the faint illumination the hens
sought the roosting-places. At 10 P. M. the remaining lights
were extinguished. It was found that if all the lights were extinguished
suddenly the fowls went to sleep on the ground and thus became a prey to
parasites. The increase in production of eggs is brought about merely by
keeping the fowls awake longer. On the same farm the growth of chicks
incubated during the winter months increased by one third through the
use of electric light which kept them feeding longer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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