Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-21
DEFENSE AGAINST HAIL.
The Use Of Cannon Has Proved Success
full in France.

The cannon defense against hail forms
the subject Of report to the State De-
partment by United States Consul Covert
at Lyon, France. The Hail Cannon Society
of Limas has prepared a report on the use
of the cannon during the past year. The
report deals with the experience of TWENTY
eight cannon-aring societies, which used
49, cannon in a number of storms It an
pears that during the fifteen years prior
to the use Of cannon the losses from hail
amounted to about 3,OSSO 900, and that dur
Ing the five years in which cannon have
been In use in the same territory the losses
were but $685. Alp. During the year 1904 the
same communes sustained no losses what
ever, fact attributed entirely to use of
cannon. The writer of the report saws:
We base our confidence in the efficacy
of the firing on the fact that the thunder
and lightning ceased, the wind abated and
the clouds disappeared under the firing Of
the cannon, and a mild fall Of rain and soft
snow succeeded. These facts are undenia-
ble."
The report reviews the results of the fir
ing In tWenty-eight storms during the
months of April, May, June, July and Sep
TENDER. The results are generally the
same-cessation of the thunder and light
ming, dispersion of the clouds and slight
fall of rain and snow. Where no cannon
were used the hail 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 hurricane swept over the country
with violence, everywhere causing great
damage"
The report contains several pages on the
storm of July %, 1904, which caused great
damage in some parts of the country not
protected by the cannon. This hurricane
caused incalculable damage in twenty nine
communes Two communes Lozanne and
Belmont, were entirely desolated, 'but
they had but few cannon, one six and
the other eight. They are separated by a
great distance from the country that il
provided with cannon" The mayor of
Lozanne, who Is the president of the So
ciety for defense against the hail. wrote
that his neighbors found themselves upon
the edge of the communeS where there was
no defense against the hail and were unable
to resist q storm Of such violence He
says: During the first few minutes of the
storm the firing was followed by the falling
of q few soft hailstopes, and everybody
noticed, even in that general storm that
the thunder and lightning diminished as the
firing continued, and that the diminution
was caused by the cannon" In several
places all traces of vegetation disappeared,
and the CONSERVATION was great in the
wine-growing communes The mayor of
Belmont reports that the firing was power
less in his commune ON account OF the small
number Of cannon.
The report mentions several localities
where the firing was very active, and 1t
says the hall was checked when the firing
commenced In the country known as
Arbresle there were. from all accounts, but
few cannon in use, and the destruction
from hail was widespread and disastrous.
In the great Beaujolais wine district,
where the country "fairly bristled 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 very little firing occurred IN the
center Of the field. The consul says he has
met 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 a mild rain.
"The use of cannon against the nan,
says Consul Covert, "will undoubtedly con-
tinue in France until some authority APP
pointed by the government shall ASSUME
control of the experiments and demonstrate
its impotency, If such a thing be posslDle.
The farmers Of Arbresle. where out lew
cannon were used, are preparing TO wage q g,
more effective campaign against tine nali
next year. Their president and the otner
officers of their societies are OF the opinion
that the sole cause of their losses this year
was the failure to use sufficient NUMBER
of cannon -