The Lambertville record., 1873-07-09

column and terminates in the erouiitls Astill
more striking instance of the value of light
ning-rods is church on the estate of Count
Orsini, in Calinthia. This building was placed
upon an eminence, and had been so often
struck by lightning that it was deemed no
longer safe to celebrate divine service within
its wallis In $780, single stroke of light
ming destroyed the entire steepe; after it had
been rebuilt it was struck, on an average, four
or five times year, without counting extra
ordinary storms, during which it was struck
from five to ten times in a single day. In
IT'S the building was reconstructed, and fur
nished with conductor; and, according to
Lichtenberg, up to 17S3--tlat is to say, dur
ing the space of five years-7the steeple had
been struck only once, and this stroke had fal-
len upon the metallic point without producing
any damage. In short, no doubt exists in the
minds of intelligent and well-informed men
in regard to the efficiency of wellconstructed
lightning-rods. OF course, in this, as i'll every
other department Of applied science, we find
men who exclaim against them, and men who
think that such appliances are worthless, un-
less some particular notions of their own are
embodied in their construction ; but, on the
other hand we lind that the great bulk of our
scientific men are Unanimous in regard to their
efficiency, as well as in respect to the best
methods of constructing them and it gis a
curious fact that the rod which now receives
the greatest favor from those who are most
competent to form an opinion in nsthe matter is
substantially the old rod described by Frank
lin. The country is at the present moment
overrun by so7called lghtnng-rod men, who
palm Oft worthless and expensive articles up
on their customers, and in many cases are, in
addition to this, guilty of downright swind-
ling. 1t may be well, therefore, to say that
by attending to few essential points, any or
dinary carpenter or hot,se-builder can easily
erect a rod ,tbatswiH give perfect protection.--
The points to be attended to ale. three. L.
THO rod should be of sufficient ssize--a solid
iron rod, half an inch square, ,sor a copper rod,
one inch wide and one-tenth of an inch thick,
are the sizes recommended by the best au-
thorities. Thin copper strip is most easily
handled; but copper wire, Nc. or Q, may
be more easily procured, and will answer d lite
as well. The light tubular and fancy rods
sold by itinerant venders are almost always
deficient in metal There is no advantage in
tubular, star-shaped, twisted or other rods
Harris, the great authority, says: Crowded
the quantity of metal be present, the form
under which we placeit is evidently Of no con
sequence to its conductive powersp Harris,
son Thnnderstorms, p. 100. Becquerel,
Pouillet, Fafraday, Noel, and every electrician
of note THAT we have consulted, agree with
him. ~ R q.
2. In arranging the rod, carry it along the
ridge, and along the corners of the gables.
Connect it with all tin roofs, cutters, water
spouts, etc, and do not insutate a. Points
are of comparatively small consequence, and
it is not best to dsiigure house by row of
bayonets stuck on it. The crestings and H.
nails of Mansard roofs are as good lightning
rod points as can be desired The rod may
be painted the same color as the house but
do not allow the paint to destroy the metallic
connection between the rod and the masses of
metal that we have mentioned. The best
mode of attaching the rod to the building is
by small staples for wires, and tacks ora nails
for fiat strips
3. Beyond all question, the most important
in the construction and erection of lightning
rods is the ground d-connection. Careful and
extensive observation has convinced us that
in regard to this matter, fully two-thifts of
the lightning-rods in existence are defective;
and it is here that the itinerant vender gene
rally manages to cheat his customers most
| ~.
rod is carried into the ground to a depth be-
low the level OF. the wells in the locality
This is the rule laid down by the Commission
appointed by the French Government, and If
space permitted, it would be easy to show that
it is based ON sound principles.
Whether or not the rod should be connect
ed with the gas and water-pipes is an open
question. We should say not. The joints of
gas and water-pipes are generally formed Of
insulating substances and in several well-au-
thenticated cases these joints have been rup-
tured by the discharge, and the water allowed
to how out, and the gas set on fire. In this
case, as the least Of two evils, we would yio-
late the rule which directs us to connect the
rod with all metallic substances and make no
connection with the gas and water-pipes.
These are not the vague notions of an iso-
lated dabber in science, but the conclusions
arrived as by commissioners appointed by the
Governments Of France and Britain, for the
special purpose Of investigating this subject.
They may, therefore, be received with the
most implicit confidence S
But, while it is easy to protect buildings
H "a Ll4lrt
and ships, it is not always possible to protect
isolated human beings. All that we can do in
this ease is to avoid, as much as possible, tile
vicinity Of those objects that are likely to at
tract the lightning A few years ago some
wiseacre invented a portable lightning-rod,
consisting of an umbrella, having metal
stem, to the lower end Of which was attached
a chain THAT was allowed to drag along the
ground. Such a contrivance would be not
only useless, but dangerous as It would be ut
terly impossible to give such portable rod a
good ground connection.
The old directions about feather-beds, glass
ara ,,n.pa,,cx.af Dua5 fJ,e