Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1891-09-11
FRIDAY MORNING. SEPT. II. 1891.

There is nothing that the farmers of this
country are more interested in than timely
rains, nor that they lose more money by than
untimely ones. A history of the present
effort of the government to generate rain
to order by producing conclusions III the
upper skies, is therefore interesting. The
plan now being tried in Texas with, it
must be confessed, very meagre and incon-
elusive results, SO far, is an old idea both
IN this country and in Europe. It grew
on both hemispheres out of the frequency
with which observation showed rain sue
ceeded great battles where the cannonading
was heavy. Without recalling Dresden,
Waterloo and other great engagements
which were followed by heavy rains, the
condolences during the civil war in this
country were marked. Nine battles were
followed by rain in 1851, forty in 1862;
thirty i'll 1863; twenty eight i'll 1861, and
six i'll 1865. This SO impressed Gen. Dan
iel Ruggles OF the Confederate army that
eleven years ago, then a resident of Fred
ericksburg, Va, he obtained a patent for a
method of precipitating rain storms by
producing a series of conclusions i'll the
upper atmosphere. His patent is number
ed 230 OCT aud was issued June 10, 1880.
The Scientific American of New York of
the following November published Il de-
tailed statement Of its merits and a picture
of a man touching an electric instrument
and producing an explosion in balloon i'll
bo olnu6C 70 which q Mirp loads For 1aolr
probably, of money to make costly expert
ments, the patentee made none and little
was heard of the patent. Two years ago
U. S. Senator G.. B. Farwell of Illinois, was
impressed by the statement in conversation
of Lelian Stanford, another member Of the
Senate. from California, that while he was
building the Central Pacific Railway. dur
ing the period Of blasting. extending over
year, rain fell every day in country where
it had never rained before and has never
rained since. Senator FarWell procured
the insertion in the Appropriation bill of al
item for $4,000 to be expended in artificial
rain producing under the authority of the
government With this fund in hand the
Department Of Agriculture placed the ex-
periments under the charge of Gen. r. G.
Dyrenforth assisted by Prof. Carl Myers,
the ballooniSt, who will be recollected for
his balloon ascension in Staunton, Prof
Francis Powers, G. E., the compiler of
''War and the Weather, +" Mr.. Jno. T. Ellis
and MI. Geo. E. easier, balloonist.
The point selected for the experiment
al, A
Texas, where, it is alleged, little OF no rain
has fallen for three years. To that point
the party carried several dozen balloons,
kites, retorts, acids, chlorate of potash, sui
phuric acid, dynamite, manganese, racka-
rock, electric machines and so forth. The
first experiment was made with bal
looms filled with explosive gases to which
lighted fuses We're attached. These eXplod-
ed about two miles from where they We're
sent up, and that hight rain fell about
twenty-five miles from the spot. On Au-
gust Goth, however, the result Of weeks
mbardment-a heavy down pour of rain
was deemed decidedly encouraging by the
experimenters, especially as before the ex-
plosion the barometer was high and the
needle pointed to fair. While very strong
exercise of faith will he required to accept
the theory that the vast area whose asmos-
pheric conditions are implicated in the
manufacture of Il rain storm, however
small, can be made tributary to local eXplo-
sions. yet the official report of Gen. Dyren-
forth and his coadjutors Will be looked for
ward to with interest and curiosity. In
the mean time the fine opportunity of Gen.
Daniel Raggles OIL his heirs to sue the Ma
tional government for infringement of his
eleven-year-old patent, may occupy the at
tention of the U. S. Attorney General.