This paper has been prepared with the dual purpose of presenting to those interested, but not actively engaged, in rural electrification, a picture of the general development of electrical participation in farm processes, while at the same time offering a clearing-house of ideas for those actively engaged but whose interest is, for various reasons, localized. The main attention has been given to the less-common applications, to those which are the subject of some controversy, and to those which may appear to have a Wider field of application in the future. Emphasis has been placed on trends rather than on facts and figures.