The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-30
LOSSES FROM LIGHTNING.


from the Chicago Times-Heraid.
rev questions are Of greater Interest
whether considered from practical or ,be.
oretical standpoint than the manifes,a-
IONS Of energy in lightning DISCHARGES
The practical side of the problem .annsals
d'reety TO great portion of the poDula-
lion' but more especially 10 the people who
live in the country ana the smaller towns
and villages. BY che practical side is meant
working knowledge Of the character OF
me lightning flash, the kind of object most
frequently struck, methods of protection
ana the distribution Of destructive flashes
Doth in time and over space.
1t would be of manifest advantage 10
know the precise character of the ordinary
hghtn.ng tiash-whether, for example. il
approXimates condition of steady flow
OF partakes of an oscbiatory character. i
e., a current which rapidly reverses it's
direction. A better knowledge than We
now possess of the kind Of object most
frequently struck, whether tree, dwelling
mouse or barn, might be The means Of saw
ing human life. if, for example, certain
trees are more apt to be struck by light
nlng than others, they should be avoided
as a place of shelter in time of thunder
storm There are other lines of inquiry
IN which greater precision of,methods and
devices would yield valuable returns
A httle over year ago the department
OF ariculture, through its weather bureau.
undertook the collection of statistics of
loss OF life and, property, especially in
farming communities, by lightning. The re-
suits OF the first years work and consider
able Information of a general character
are given in bulletin No. 26 of the weather
bureau just issued. The bulletin consists
of two parts. The first is largely devoted to
a discussion of the Identification of the
atmosphere and the methods of investiga-
ton that have been pursued by different
experiments. The application of the knowd-
edge thus gained to the construction of
apparatus for protection from lightning is
reviewed, and, finally, methods of protec-
tlon are discussed and rules for the cree
ton of lightning rods are given. The lat
ter are intended NOT only for the guidance
of persons desiring TO erect rods them
selves, but more particularly 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 wheth-
er or not il has been properly constructed
and placed upon his premises.
Part IL, by Alfred J. Henry contains a
summary of loss of life and property in
the United States by lightning during 1888,
and so far as known, during previous
years. The statistics are not by any
means complete, especially as regards the
loss of live stock by lightning The fact
of greatest Importance developed thus far
in the inquiry is that about one-third Of
all the cases of fatal lightning stroke on
live stock in the fields occurred in the i'm
mediate vicinity of wire fences; indeed.
there is evidence that in some cases light
ming struck the fence at some distance
from the place where the stock was KILL
ed, The statistics. Incomplete as they
doubtless are, show that the farmers of
the country lost by lightning alone dur
ing 1888 live stock valued at about $4,000.
During the same time there were over
1850 cases of destructive lightning
strokes on buildings, causing a money loss
of about $,50O,OOO Three hundred and
sixty-seven lives were lost and 494 persons
were more or less severely injured by
lightning stroke. The killed were in va
rious conditions of environment--in dwell
ings, barns, under trees and in the open.
More people were killed under trees than
in the open. 1t is not safe to seek shell
ter from a thunderstorm under tree.
The regions Of greatest danger from
lightning stroke appear to be in wyoming
Montana, Colorado and North Dakota. all
though more extended records are requir-
ed before a definite expression on this
question can be given. The statistics con-
firm the general belief that danger from
lightning stroke is least in closely built
cities and greatest in the open country
The ration of deaths to total population,
assuming the latter to be 6S,000,0O0 is a lit
tie over five persons in a million living, a
rate considerably larger than that of Eng
land and Wales and Norway and Sweden,
but about equal to that of Germany and
Austria,