The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1868-10-29
the Democratic freSs.f
THEORY OF STORMS, .

Do thunder clouds in summer fol-.
low. the courses of rivers, or in other
words, do rivers and large rivulets at
tract rain clouds, so that vegetation
on their borders is scarcely ever in
jured by draught?
Notlongl since Lksaid to an expert
enced farmer here, that streams of
water do attract thunder clouds in a
hot summer and give moderate sup
ply of rain to the fields. on their Dor
tdefs, while Vegetation at distance
from them sometimes suffers from
drought. He being afemafkably wise
man in agriculture and meterology, as
well as in politics, declared that he
had never seen any evidence of that,
but knew certain facts tending to
prove the negative Of this propotition.
requested him to state the occurrences
which should Establish the fallacy of
my doctrine, but he did not do so, and
strongly suspectthaf heA believes in
the efficacy of a mans prayers, to
bring showers, when they are needed
and to cause cesession of rain after
it has become excessive. y.
During q residence of semej fifteen
5eafs Near the Cumberland river in
Tennessee, 1 never knew vegetation
| to suffer within q mile of that stream,
| but more than once, in fact, at several
different times, when corn, potatoes
and cotton were growing luxuriantly
all along the river, fields distant three
to six miles from the river We're
parched with drought, and corn hard
fy in Alpems va With ering. Indeed,
in all that time never heard the plan
tters near the Cumberland eli complain of
drought eSisa1en'e ~ i.itg " ~ :
Vermont abounds in rivers and riv-
ulets, large and small, and every sum-
mer ts.cultiyated' fields and its forests
are refreshed by timely thunder show
ers and IN Hno5portien of theworld, is
the richest kind of grass more unfail-
iRgaq Afew years lsineean old citizen
of Pittsburg informed me that he had
many time in summer seen a thun-
degoelehd move lupJ the eOhioriv
and dividing at Pittsburg, one porl
ton of the same pass up the Allegha-
ney and the other up the Mononga-
hela. A very respectable Hudson
farmer, who formerly resided in, Penn
sylvania, affirms that he has more than
once witfessedb the same phenone-
non at Pit Rpiittsbprg,; that, iss the cloud
separating at that place, and the. two
PORTIONS thence wiafted toward oppo-
site points of. the compass at,the same
time and up the two tributaries of the
Ohio, rIr>
* neighbor of fnihe, who is a con-
ductor on Hudson and Millersburg
train, during the, summer, of 1867,
used often to inform me that thunder
showers had occurred along his route,
E1at is they moved long the streams
Of water Between Hudson and Mil
lersburg. refreshing the vegetation
near those streams, while at Hudson,
burning sun continually blazed upon
us, and our. gardens, meadows and,
cornfe1ds were being dried up. The
same took place as often as three or
four times month from the summer
selstiee to aieIaiituhfaf equinox. The
same gentleman Safffirms that pheg
nomena exactly similar have occur
red many times during the summer
Just elapsed. While the drought cut
off the corn in this vicinity in 1867,
splendid yields were obtained by the
timers near the streams Lof Holmes, ).
TuscaraWas, Coshocton, Licking and
Muskingum counties. o aAaIyts
Hudson, 0. N. p.
A CURIOUS STORY---A MAN N-GHoKEDl