The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1905-11-16
CANNON STOPS HAIL.
SATISFACTORY RESULTS OF Ex-
PERIMENTs IN FRANCE.
Damage from Storms Absolutely
Checked in Localities Where
Firing Has Been
noua

Checked In Localities Where
Firing Has Been
Done.
The cannon defense against hail
state department by United States
Consul Covert at Lyon. France. The
Hail Cannon society of Limas has
prepared q report on the use of the
cannon during the past year. The re-
port deals with the experience Of, 2S
cannon-nring societies, which used 462
cannon in q number Of storms. II ap-
pears that during the 15 years prior
60 the use Of cannon the losses from
hail amounted to about s3,0Ss.000 and
that during the five years In which
cannon have been in use In the same
territory the losses were but s159,412.
During the year 1904 the same COM
munes sustained no losses whatever.
a fact attributed entirely TO use Of
cannon. The writer of the report
says:
I'VE base our confidence in the
efhcacy Of the firing on the fact that
the thunder and lightning ceased, the
wind abated and the clouds disap-
peared under the firing Of the cannon,
and a mild fall of rain and soft snow
succeeded. These facts are undenia-
BILE"
The report reviews the results of
the firing in 2S storms during the
months of April, May, June, July and
September The results are generally
the same-cessation OF the thunder
and lightning, dispersion OF the clouds
and a slight fall OF rain and snow.
Where no cannon were used the hall
fell and caused serious damages. THE
communes not defended by cannon
suffered enormously" In speaking of
one storm the report says:
This storm was literally arrested
at the east on the boundaries Of the
firing. In the northwest and little
distance from the cannon a hurricane
swept over the country with violence.
everywhere causing great damage"
The report contains several pages
on the storm OF July 22 1904, which
caused great damage In some parts OF
the country not protected by the can
non. This hurricane caused incalcu.
liable damage in 20 communes. Two
communes, Lozanne and Belmont,
were entirely desolated. but they had
but n few cannon, one six and the
other eight They are separated by
n great distance from the country that
is provided with cannon" The mayor
n 4. N1.a Is.V4f 81
the society for defense against the
hail, wrote that his neighbors found
themselves upon the edge of the com.
munes where there was no defense
a~a'nst the hall and were unable to
resist a storm OF such violence He
says: During the first few minutes
Of the storm the firing was followed
by the falling Of few soft hailstones.
and everybody noticed, even In that
general storm, that the thunder and
lightning diminished as the firing con-
tinued, and that the diminution was
caused by the cannon" In several
places all traces of vegetation disap.
peared and the CONSERVATION was
great in the wine-growing communes.
The mayor Of Belmont reports that
the firing was powerless In his com.
mune on account OF the small number
OF cannon.
The report mentions several locali-
ties where the firing was very active.
and II says the hail was checked when
the firing commenced. In the country
known as Arbresle there we're, from
Ill H,,4 L.
and the destruction from heil was
widespread and disastrous.
In the great Beaujolais wine dis.
trict, where the country fairly bris-
tied with cannon" the farmers say
that they found IT necessary to fire
only on the boundaries of the large
vineyards. and that. as a rule, but
ter of the field. The consul says he
has met a dozen or more large wine
growers who assert emphatically that
they have not the remotest doubt of
the efficacy of the cannon TO destroy
the hail In the clouds and to turn It
into o mild rain.
~rhe ut9 of cannon against the
hail." says Consul Covert. will un.
doubtedly continue in France until
some authority appointed by the gov
ernment shall assume control of the
experiments and demonstrate IT'S i'm
potency. II such a thing be possible.
The farmers of Arbresle, where but
few cannon were used, are preparing
to wage a more effective campaign
against the hail next year. Their
president and the other officers OF their
societies are OF the opinion that the
sole cause Of their losses this year
was the failure 20 use sufficient
number of cannon"