It was shown that if a small amount of rust was added to the water in these experiments, no charge developed; the water became 'empty. He abstracted this finding to the use of iron ploughs and thought their effect on harvest yields must relate to this. When the iron plough moves through the soil, it becomes warm, and the disturbed soil is covered with a fine dust of iron particles that quickly rust. He had previously noticed that iron-rich ground was dry, and that the turbines in power stations 'discharged' water. The conclusion of all these observations was that iron had a detrimental effect on the water characteristics within the soil; it expelled the water and 'drained' it of its power.