The times., 1901-06-10
TO PREVENT HAILSTORMS.
Reports of the Successful Use of Ex-
pIosives Abroad Discrcdited.

| Reports of the Successful Use of Ex-
pIosives Abroad Discredited.
The extensive reports of United States
| Consul Covert at Lyons, France. relative
to the success of cannon firing in France
as means of protecting orchards and
vineyards from hailstOrms and also for
the purpose of mitigating or nulhfying
the effects of frosts upon vegetation, have
prompted numerous enquiries by hortlcu!-
turists in this country as to when, II at
all, this Government would adopt similar
methods Of protection.
Willis L. Moore, Chief of the Weather
Bureau, acting under the direction OF
Secretary Wilson has therefore issued the
following statement:
The use of explosives to destroy hail
storms and to minimize the effects oil
frosts has spread throughout italy, south
ern Austria. and southern France. IN
many places it is supported by both feder-
al and municipal appropriations, and it is
also maintained and practiced on large
scale by the owners Of vineyards. 1t is
especially exploited by certain manufac-
turers of cannon and explosives located at
Gratz. Austria 1 believe that the method
in use is based upon a popular deiusion,
and that American hOrticulturists should
not waste their time or money IN the foI-
lowing of such an ignis fatuus.
1.-The inventor OF the apparatus IS Mr..
Stiger, and the method is ordinarily
spoken of as the Stiger method. 1t con-
sists essentially in sending vortex rings of
smoke and air upward toward the clouds;
but unfortunately for the claims of our
European eXperimenters the most power
full Stiger cannon that has yet been en-
ployed cannot send these rings higher
than 1900 feet above the ground, and
therefore utterly fail to reach the clouds.
ON this account the distinguished Aus
trian meteorological, j. M Pertner, has
maintained that if there is any virtue
whatever in the idea of the experiment
tgrs they must use more powerful ap-
paratus But there is no satisfactory evi-
dence that the cannonadlng or the NCr-
tices had any influence whatever on the
hail Both theory and practice agree IN
this conclusion. theoretically II was
imagined by Mr.. Stiger that hail was
formed in quiet spots in the atmosphere
where the atmospheric moisture could
crystalline out in large crystals IN a man
ner analogous to the formation of large
crystals of salt in liquid solution. But
this l., a very foolish notion.
Prof. Able says that there are no such
quiet spots in the atmosphere and hau-
stones are not crystals, but masses Of ice,
with only a feeble or partial crystalline
structure; that even the perfect crystals
of the snowilakes are formed IN the midst
theoretical basis for hailStorm caHuonad-
ing falls to the ground.
Practically it is difficult to prove that
n specific fall of hail has been eSpeclaI-
" influenced bv the cannonading. Hail
storms are generally very local ana er-
ratio; some have maintained that they are
controlled by the hills and the contour OF
the country. or by the presence OF forests
and lakes but practically the whole queS-
ton is one Of ascending and descending
currents of air that characterize Whlrl-
winds and thunderstorms. II, IN the lnIGsl
CT these complex motions with the result
nS rain, there occur here and there
patches of hail. it would seem absurd 10
say that We can put our hnger upon thS
precise influence that caused or prevented
hail. If in the midst Of hailstorm l
FIRE off cannon and the hail ceases 10
fall on nay land. and continues TO taA on
my neighbors, 1t would be toly 10 nam
tain that this is due TO the firing OF my
gun. Nothing but the continued repetl-
ti0n of this phenomenon under variety
of circumstances would justify this con-
clusion.
Now the fact is that in the various re-
ports relative 10 hail shooting there has not
been fair presentation of the statistics
of the results. Nothing is told US as TO
where the hailStOrmS come IRON or go
to- nor even ii there were any hailstorms,
but in most cases the record simply
states that a threatening cloud was seen
approaching the cannonadlns heSah ana
continued until the cloud went away, and
no hail fell on the region supposed to be
protected by the cannon. But this is not
all The last congress on the lombard
meut Of hail utterly refused To entertain
reports from those who testified that the
hail fell in spite of the cannOnading. In
fact therefore, reports showing that in
no case was the cannOnadtng OF any avail
had To be published Independently.
after an examination of all that has
been published during the past two years,
my conviction is that we have here to do
with a popular delusion as remarkable as
is the belief in the effect of the moon on
the weather. The uueducated peasantry
Of Europe seem to be looking for some
thing miraculous. They would rather be-
ueve in cannOnading as a means of pro-
lection and spend on il abundance of
money, time and labor than adopt the
very simple eXpedicnt Of mutual insur-
ance against the losses that must iHevi-
tably occur.
The great processes going on In the
atmosphere are conducted on too large
attempting to control them. The energy
expended by nature in the production of
a hailstOrm, a tornado, or a raiustOrm
exceeds the combined energy of all the
steam engines and explosives in the world
1t is useless for mankind to combat
nature on this scale.
After the experience that this country
has had during the past ten years with
rainmakers. | am 10th TO believe that the
bombaTdment of haiIstOrms will ever be
practiced or even attempted in the United
States much less encouraged by the in
telligent portion Of the community. Every
effort should be made to counteraCt the
spread Of the Italian delusiOn.'