17) Radionics in Agriculture

The fascinating story of the UKACO device will be of some interest to farmers and environmentalists, as this radionic technology was primarily used in agriculture to eliminate fertilizers and pesticides and to augment growth.

Curtis P. Upton, the son of an associate of Thomas Edison, was an engineer who graduated from Princeton University in 1904. Some years later, upon learning of Abrams' work, Upton began to wonder if similar techniques could be applied to diseases in plants. With the help of an electronics engineer, William J. Knuth, he set about modifying radionic equipment for agricultural experimentation.

Upton, like Drown before him, replaced the human abdomen with a rubbing plate on top of an electrical condenser. Next, he began using a continuous higher frequency radio wave for transmitting the radionic signal rather than Abrams' pulsed negative charge. Finally, on the input end of the device, a copper plate or screen was attached to the device to hold a plant specimen or photographic negative, and on the output side a small antenna. The idea was that a leaf or negative placed on this screen would serve as a "witness" to the entire plant or field.

This technique enabled entire fields to be treated through aerial photographs. To enhance growth, all that was necessary was for the operator to link their intent mentally with the broadcast, which would occur for five or ten minutes once a week. This would result in a signal being sent to the witnessed plants to stimulate growth. The radionic command operated in the fashion of a feedback loop until the plant was again healthy and strong.

To treat for infestation, a "reagent" that was noxious to the pest (natural poisons worked best) would be added to the leaf or negative witness, and the process repeated. Upton found that even from a distance, 80% or 90% of the pests treated in this manner would be dead or gone in 48 hours. In control experiments, Upton would black out or destroy certain rows on the negatives, while treating adjoining rows by his methods, in order to demonstrate the precision and effectiveness of his invention.

Edward W. Russell's REPORT ON RADIONICS describes the following: "One of Upton's most fascinating experiments was to chase the worms off a tree with the flower of a geranium. He would take a leaf from the infested tree and lay it on the collector-plate alongside a geranium flower. When he switched on the transmitter, the radiation from the geranium would be 'keyed' to the distant tree and would give the latter some kind of 'taste' or radiation which the worms disliked and which would cause them to hurry to the nearest exit and fall to the ground. This usually happened in five minutes and, at close range was almost instantaneous. But the sturdier the growth the longer it took."

Upton's device vastly simplified the application of Radionics. It invoked a seemingly magical response in a timely way. It was so good in fact, that the Pennsylvania Farm Federation ordered their Research Department to initiate an investigation of his methods in 1949. Russell states that one-year later, after successfully reproducing his experiments, the PFF asked for exclusive use of his product in Pennsylvania. By 1952, better results were forthcoming, adding much needed revenue to the research effort. Working in California, William Kunth initiated a No Results--No Pay system that didn't obligate a farmer to pay for a treatment unless they were satisfied with the results, the costs of which were a fraction of spraying.

In , Russell documents many of the actual experiments and their results, including those performed by fertilizer and pesticide companies, who were alarmed by these developments. From his analysis I offer the following synopsis:

The UKAKO Corporation was formed in 1947 with the addition of Upton's Princeton roommate Howard H. Armstrong, a metallurgist and chemical engineer who was also the son of an inventor. Through Armstrong’s influence, retired Brigadier-General Henry M. Gross, USA, a powerful and well-liked personality in Pennsylvania (also with mechanical engineering training), was brought in to guide the fledgling enterprise. Through this collaboration, both a non-profit and a for-profit corporation were formed to advance agricultural Radionics.

Further independent research by the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Co-operative Association in 1948 confirmed earlier successes, with the Director, Mr. B. A. Rockwell, recommending "…a comprehensive experimental program during 1949, to further determine the possibilities of insect control by radionic processes."

With such enthusiastic support from government farm agencies and farmers alike, it was not long before Upton and his associates were attacked for their discoveries. The first was regulatory, and came in 1951 when the Beltsville U.S. Agricultural Research Center decided to investigate the UKAKO device. Scientists from both sides were asked to monitor a series of radionically treated fields over the summer of 1952. By August, all agreed the report of the results would be favorable. Yet when a letter arrived on November 5th, the Beltsville people claimed the counts (in the fields) "did not provide an adequate basis for estimating the 'U.K.A.K.O. Process" and other pertinent data that was clearly at odds with the events of the summer.

From here it did not take long before Rockwell was warned off publishing his data. He also discovered that the Beltsville agency had begun a campaign to ridicule the process and vilify Mr. Armstrong, while seeming to appear willing to continue research at a later date through their correspondence. Private inquiries by General Gross convinced the group that the chemical lobbies had been behind the fix. Due to the prestige of the Agency in question, important corporations and farmers groups were discouraged from further interest.

Upton was known to occasionally treat the sick radionically free of charge. In 1960 his wife was tricked into accepting some money in marked bills from a person that had convinced him to provide a medical radionic treatment. This deceit resulted in Upton being prosecuted, spending a few days in jail and ultimately obtaining a suspended sentence. Of course, these complications his reputation and did not help public relations for his foundation or company. He died a few years later in 1966 and Armstrong six years later in 1972.

One other interesting facet of Upton's work was his discovery about pencil marks. Pencil marks, according to Upton, could provide an equally effective witness or 'key' for radionic diagnosis or treatment as a blood spot, a photograph or a leaf. This technique required holding a graphite pencil sharpened at both ends over a piece of paper. The paper and pencil were first 'cleaned of all radiation' by passing a bar magnet over them. Then the pencil was held with a thumb over the upraised point while the other end marked the paper or wrote a signature or instructions.

When finished, Upton would pick up the paper with rubber gloves and place the paper on his device and begin the analysis. This unusual discovery will have additional significance in the later discussion of the relationship between Radionics and art. At the very least, taken at face value, the discovery that inscription can conduct radionic energy provide a clue to how pre-historic cave painting and petroglyph art may also have been functional technology.

From the perspective of Upton's agricultural radionic experiments, petroglyphs carved repeatedly over long periods of time in remote and inaccessible locations (that would seem to have little to do with decoration), take on a functional significance. Were marks placed upon powerful or sacred spots on the landscape functioning as radionic witnesses? Were cave paintings made with spit and blood charging the imagery with subtle energy? To look at these paintings today after, 10, 20, 40,000 years is to be reminded of how well they have preserved the intensity of their creator's intent! Perhaps those early painters, unhindered by artistic preconceptions, were more conversant with using imagery and energy to accomplish a task than we give them credit for!

Upton’s idea that a personal 'signature' conveys something essential of that person is universally accepted. It remains at the core of our legal and financial institutions. Take the idea a step further by postulating the signature as containing an energetic version of DNA. One can envision the point where art moves beyond metaphor and becomes a form of occult technology. What takes occult technology beyond functionalism and back into high art is the power, beauty or breadth of the intention that is given expression.

Like artists, the radionic innovators weren't concerned that public comprehension of their creations had yet to be made by the world at large. What was important to each was the empirical process, whether it led to important results that could rest on their own merit. Imagine if the agricultural radionic pioneers of the 40's and 50's had the support and resources of the environmental movement of today. Their insights provided a profound sense of ecology before it even became a recognized field of study. Among their contributions would be an ecological alternative to fertilizers and pesticides. Their landscape would be conceived as an energetic whole, supported by intelligent life energy. Environmental Radionics would be decades along instead of just beginning. Curtis P. Upton’s Radionics would now be legendary instead of lost.