Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1857-09-12

.stne psosr q recent asnsssr q IL H. Qo.r
Two clouds arc not necessary for Dc production
Of lightning. which isflequensly discharged from
solitary clump of vaper when . connection can be
established with the earth "A French academicaan,
named Marcolle, describes . ease where mere
cloudIes about foot and half in diameter, killed
poor woman by dropping thnndeEbost ePon ne1
head 1t has been shown by Far.day that the esec-
t1ic fluid contained in single fash might PernaPs
be supplied by the decomposition Of one gram q
water alone.
N. Ar.eo has divided the lightning into three
sorts. The first includes those where the discharge
appears like long luminous lines. bent INTO angles
and zig-zazs and varying in complexion from white
to blue purple red This kind IS known Is iosk-
ed lightning because it occasionally divides intotwo
branches Carpenter relatesa case where nasn
severed into three FORKS each Of which struck Ponts
several hundred feet apart Still more numerous
furc.ons have been reported for it IS said that du-
ring q tempest at Landerneau and St Pol de Leon
twenty-four churches were struck. though only
three distinct claps were heard. This Was eight
churches apiece for the three explosions.
The second class of lightning differs from the first
in the range of surface over which the Hash IS oil
fused, and is designated as sheet lightning Some
times it simply gds the edges Of the clouds whence
it leaps but others it floods with lurd radiance,
or else suffuses its surface with bushes Of rosy or
violet hue
The third class Of lightnings are remarkable for
their eecentzcities and have been made the subject
of considerable attention among meteoruloglsss,
many Of whom have denied their right to be treated
legitimate ightnings, they differ 50 widely from
the ordinary sort of flashes They exhibit them
selves as balls gobular Jumps Of hre-not mo-
mentary appartions, but meteors which take their
own time and travel At . remarkable rate. Ii IS
this ncelerty which gives them their doubtfu. char
acter electrical bolt is supposed to be one OF
the leading emblens of velocity. Among other an
ecdotes related Of this kind Of lightning is the fol-
lowing incident which occurred . tailor IN the
Rue ST. Jacques Val de Grace about the year l7i3.
NJ Babinet was commissioned by the Academy OF
Sciences to investigate the facts, and reported SUBJ
stansivlly follows:
After = loud thunder-clap the tailor being fin
ishng his meal, the chimney board fall down as
if beset by slight gust of wind and globe OF IRE,
the size of chd's head, come out quietly into the
room at a small heig ht above the floor. The tailor
said looked like good sized kitten rolled up into
bail, and moving without showing its paws. 1t
bright and shining, but ne felt no sensation OF
heat The globe came near his feet, like young cat
that wants to rub its masters legs; but by moving
them aside gently he avoided the contact 1t ap
pears to have played for several seconds abou, his
feet, he bending his body over it, and examining it
attentvelv. After trying some excursions in differ
directions vertically the heg hs of his
head, which lie threw back to avoid touching his
bce The globe elougating little, then steered to-
wards hole iE the chimney above the manseipiece,
where hole received stove-ppe in winter, but was
now pasted over with paper. The thunder he
said, could not the hole; but nevertheless the
ball went straight to the aperture, removing the pa
per without hurting it, and made its way into the
chimney. Shortly afterwards, when he supposed it
had time to reach the top, it made dreadful expo
SION, which destroyed the upper part Of the Chin
ney and threw the fragments on the roof Of smaller
buildings, which they broke through. The tailor's
lodging the third story the lower ONES were
not visited at al by the thunderbolt"
Lightning, when it meets SIS obstruction in its
course, frequently skaters tie conducting OBJ
ject dispensing and bursting substances aSunder in
every direction, as if they had been charged with
gunpowder. The stone pinnacle of a church in
Cornwall was struck by lightning and one fragment
| weighing three hundred pounds was hurled sixty
yards to the southwark another four hundred yards
to the north, and third the southwest In 1898
the top-gaIlant mast Of her Majesty's ship Rodney
was literally cut into chips by fash OF lightning,
carpenters had been sweeping their shavings over
board. Sometimes, in striking tree or mast, the
electric fluid viii slice it into long shreds or fla
ments, so that it will appear like huge broom or a
bundle of lashs- Lightning bolts will occasionally
dash through resisting objects by tearing great open
ings, as in Cornish church, where apertures were
made in the solid wall Of the belfry fourteen inches
Deep and as if cut out by art. In other instances
small holes are drilled which surprising for their
perfect circularity of form Window panes have
been frequently pierced in this fashion without af
cting the rest of the glass In forming these aper-
lures, burr or projection is left upon the edges
Juvenile electricians in the habit of making
holes in cards by passing discharges through them
when . burr projection will be observed on both
sides of the orifce. Sometimes single discharge
viii produce two holes in . card, each puncture
marked by q single burr, the upper and the
other on the under side of the card. In some in
stances the result such to suggest that fash
may be split up into several fiery 6!aments before it
| strks object In 1877 weathercock Of timed
copper was hurled by thunderbolt from the top of
church il Cremona and, upon inspection, was found
to be pierced with eighteen holes in nine Of them
the burr conspicuous on one side, and in nine it
equally prominent on the other, while the slope
! of the burr was identical in all
Among the curiosities of lighting are what is term
ed '' fuIgurites," tubes, which the lightning con-
structs when il falls upon silicous spot, BY fusing
the sand. They may be called casts of thunderbots.
these hollow tubes have been found from -ff.eth
| to two inches in diameter, tapering perhaps to
| mere point The entire extent of the tubes may be
thirty feet but they usually separate into numerous
brache and have the appearance Of the skeleton Of
| an inverted tree. They are lined with glass rs
smooth and perfect if it had been made in glass
house.
| The SWEET Uses OF ADvERsFrT-Yon wear out
| your old clothes.
You are not troubled with many visitors
You are exonerated from making calls.
| Bores do not bore you.
Spooners do not haunt your table.
| Itinerant bands do not play opposite your win
| dow.
| No tradesman irritates you by asking Is there
| any other article to-day, sir :"
| Begging letter-writers leave you alone.
/ Irpnn f0pc Ev]A~ 10 rcoloc tn lonyfu VT