The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1899-10-14
LOSSES FROM LIGHTNING.
some interesting Facts and Figures
Furnished by a Weather
Rureau Onicini.

Few questions are OF greater interest.
whether considered from practical or
theoretical standpoint, than the mani
festations of energy in lightning dis
charges. The practical side of the prob
lem appeals directly to great portion
of the population, but more especially
TO the people who live in the country
and the smaller towns and villages.
BY the practical side is meant work
ing knowledge of the character of the
lightning fash, the kind of object most
frequently struck, methods of protec-
tion and the distribution of destructive
flashes both in time and over space.
1t would be of manifest advantage to
know the precise character of the or
binary lightning flash-whether, for
example, il approximates a condition of
steady flow or partakes of an Dscil-
latory character, /. e., a current which
rapidly reverses its direction. A bet
ter knowledge than we now possess
of the kind of object most frequently
struck, whether tree, dwelling-house or
barn, might be the means Of saving
human life. If, for example, certain
trees are more apt to be struck by light
ming than others they should be avoid
ed as a place of shelter in time of thun-
derstorm. There are other lines Of in
quiry in which greater precision OF
methods and devices would yield valu-
able returns.
A little over year ago the depart
ment Of agriculture, through its wealth
er bureau, undertook the collection of
statistics of loss of life end property,
especially in farming communities, by
lightning. The results of the first
years work and considerable informa
tion of general character are given
in bulletin No. 26 Of the weather bureau
just issued. The bulletin consists of
two parts. The first is largely de-
voted TO a discussion of the electrified
ton of the atmosphere and the meth
DDS OF investigation that have been pur-
sued by different experimenters. The
application Of the knowledge thus
gained TO the construction of apparatus
for protection from lightning is re-
newed, and, finally, methods of protec-
ton are discussed and rules for the
erection of lightning rods are given.
The latter are intended not only for
the guidance of persons desiring to
erect rods themselves, but more par
ticularly for those who may contract
with others TO do the work for them.
1t is quite essential that every person
who feels the need of a lightning rod
should know himself whether or not
IL has been properly constructed and
placed upon his premises.
Part H., by Alfred j. Henry, contains
n summary Of loss of life and proper
ty in the United States by lightning
during 1898, and, so far az known, dur
ing previous years. The statistics are
not by any means complete, especially
as regards the loss Of live stock by
| lightning. The fact Of greatest inn
portance developed thus far in the
inquiry is that about one-third of al
the cases of fatal lightning stroke on
live stock in the fields occurred in the
immediate vicinity of wire fences; in
deed, there is evidence that in some
cases lightning struck the fence Mt
some distance from the place where
the stock was killed. The statistics, i'm
complete as they doubtless are, show
that the farmers OF the country lost
by lightning alone during 1898 live
stock valued az about $4,000.
During the same time there were
over 1,s00 cases of destructive light
ming strokes on buildings causing
money loss of about one and a half
million dollars. Three hundred and
sixty-seven lives were lost and 494 per-
sons were more or less severely injured
by lightning stroke. The killed were
in various conditions of environment
in dwellings, barns, under trees and in
the open. More people were killed un-
der trees than in the open. IL is not
safe to shelter from n thunderstorm
under a tree.
The regions of greatest danger from
lightning stroke appear to be in Wyo-
ming, Montana, Colorado and North
Dakota, although more extended rec
ords are required before definite ex-
preston on this question can be given.
The statistics confirm the general be.
lief that danger from lightning stroke
is least in closely built cities and great
est in the open country
The ratio of deaths in total popu-
lation, assuming the latter to be 6s.
100000, Is a little over five persons in
n million living, a rate considerably
larger than that of England and Wales
and Norway and Sweden, but about
equal TO that of Germany and Austria.
Willis J.. Moore, Chief OF Weather
Bureau, in Chicago Times-Herald.