The National tribune., 1901-06-13

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 1,200 feet above the ground, and,
therefore, utterly fail to reach the clouds.
On this account the distinguished Aus
trian meteorologist, j. NJ. Pertner, has
maintained that if there is any virtue
whatever in the idea of the experimenters
they must use more powerful apparatus.
A FOOLISH NOTION.
But there is no satisfactory evidence
that the cannonading or the vortices had
any influence whatever on the hail. Both
theory and practice agree in this conclu-
sion. Theoretically it was imagined by
Mr.. Stiger that hail was formed in quiet
spots i'll the atmosphere, where the at
mospheric moisture could crystalline out
in large crystals in a manner analogous
to the formation of large crystals of salt
in liquid solution. But this is a very
foolish i-ctiOn. Prof. Able says that
there are no such quiet spots in the at
mosphere and hailstones are not crystals,
but masses of ice with only a feeble or
partial crystalline structure that even the
perfect crystals of the snowfakes are
formed in the midst of rapidly moving
air, so that the whole theoretical basis
for hailstorm cannOnading falls to the
ground.
Practically, it is difficult to prove that
specific fall of hail has been especially
influenced by the cannonading. Hail
storms are generally very local and errat-
ic. Some have maintained that they are
controlled by the hills and the contour
of the country or by the presence of for
ests and lakes, but practically the whole
question is one of ascending and descend
ing currents of air that characterize
whirlwinds and thunderstOrms. If in the
midst of these complex motions, with the
resulting rain, there occur here and there
patches Of hail, it would seem absurd to
say that we can put our finger upon the
precise influence that caused or prevented
hail. If in the midst of a hailstOrm,
fire off q cannon and the hail ceases to
fall on my land and continues to fall on
my nefghbOr's, it would be folly TO main
tain that this is due to the firing of my
gun. Nothing but the continued repeti-
ton of this phenomenon under a variety
of circumstances would justify this con-
clusion.
NEGATIVE REPORTS SUPPRESSED.
'Now, the fact is that in the various
reports relative to hail-shooting there has
not been a fair presentation of the sta
tistics upon the results. Nothing is told
us as TO where the hailstOrms come from
or 90 to, nor even if there were any hail
storms; but in most cases the record sim
ply states that a threatening cloud was
seen approaching, the cannonadng be-
gan and continued until the cloud went
away, and no hail fell on the region sup
posed to be protected by the cannon. But
this is not all. The last congress on the
bombardment of hail utterly refused to
entertain reports from those who testi-
fed that the hail fell in spite of the can
nonading. In fact, therefore, reports
showing that in no case was the cannon
AIDING of any avail had to be published in
dependently.
After an examination of all that has
been published during the past two years
my conviction is that we have here to do
with popular delusiOn as remarkable as
is the belief in the effect of the moon on
the weather. The uneducated peasantry
of Europe seem to be looking for some
thing miraculous. They would rather be
Ieye in cannonading as a means Of pro-
lection and spend on it abundance of
money, time and labor than adopt the
very simple expedient of mutual insurance
against the losses that must inevitably
occur.
THE great processes going on in the at
mosphere are conducted ON too large a
scale to warrant any man or nation in at
tempting to control them. The energy ex-
pended by nature in the production of a
hailstOrm, tornado, or a rainstorm ex-
ceeds the combined energy of all the
steam engines and explosives in the world
II is useless for mankind to combat ma
ture on this scale.
after the experience that this country
has had during the past 10 years with
rainmakcrs / am 10th to believe that the
bombardment of hailstorms will ever be
practiced or even attempted in the United
States, much less encouraged by the in
telligent portion of the community"