John Frederick William Herschel to Faraday   10 January 1845

Collingwood Jan 10 / 45

My dear Sir

Mr Gordon¹ who will deliver this letter to you, a very old and esteemed friend of mine and a gentleman of large landed property both in England & Scotland is very desirous to have some conversation with you respecting some remarkable conclusions wh appear to result from an experiment tried last Summer by Mr Forster² of Findrassie near Elgin in Scotland on the increased growth & produce of Barley under the influence of atmospheric electricity conveyed into the soil, which he considers is an object of national importance to subject to further enquiry³. Mr Forster will probably accompany Mr Gordon in his visit to you and will state to you the particulars of the experiments and his own views of its rationale.

From the very great interest Mr Gordon appears to take in the subject and from the exceedingly liberal and public spirited course he proposes to adopt (which he will himself explain) I have been induced to request (what I should not do under ordinary circumstance as knowing how very precious your time and thoughts are) that you will communicate to these gentlemen your impression of the probable success of the process if applied on an extensive scale, and of its general importance[.]

I remain | My dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | J.F.W. Herschel

Dr Faraday