The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1905-12-06
HAiL-cLCuDS.
Damage in France Averted by Bonn
barcirs Them.


barcirs Them.
An interesting report comes from
France in regard to the use of cannon
as 2. defence against hail in the agri.
cultural districts. There are actually
in active operation twsnty-eight can
non firing societies, and they put into
use last year 4c2 cannon-with what
is claimed a very marked success In
dispensing or diminishing the force :
of the storm. And, indeed. the stat
istics bear cut the claim CT tie can
non's effectiveness. During the fifteen
years before the cannon were DfSdght
into use, the Government reimbursed
the poor grape growers IN sixteen
communes s2,5!2.31G for damage SUI
fered through fail, and an additional
half million dollars Of damage is c:o-
ceded to have been done. Opposed to
thi; is the report that during the i've
years in which the cannon have been
in use the losses from hail have az
gregated cnly s159,4i2.
The facts are all set forth in re-
port issued by the president OF two
agricultural societies and hail can,
non" society, the report being based
on the statements received after eash
storm from the president Of the a I'll
cultural society Of the district. In re-
gard to the conclusions, the writer
OF the report says: I'VE base our
confidence in the efficacy of the firing
on the fact that the thunder and light
ming ceased. the wind abated and tbe
clouds disappeared under the hring OF
the cannon, and a mild fall Of rain
and soft snow succeeded. These facts
are undeniable." While these results
were accomplished by cannon firing,
the statement is vouched fer that "the
commune uot defended by canno1 suf-
fered enormously"
kDpa parently the efficacy Of the can
non is in proportion to the violence OF
the storm, for it is conceded that
certain great hurricane in July OF 1904
caused iDcalculable damage n twen-,
lynne cCmmunes ani that the usual
SIX or eight cannon ii commune
were powerless before the force OF It.
At the outset some effect was NO
ticed after the firing, softer hailstoles
and less thunder and lightning, but as
the storm increased the firing had no
influence. However, taking the year
through, We get two such constrasting
reports as these: In the country
known as Abresle there were but few
cannon in Use and the destruction
from hail was widespread and disas-
trous." 'The great Beaujolais wine
growing district fairly bristled with
cannon, and while there were many
storms the losses from hal a1d wind
and rain wee infnit:siui:.l
The National Government IS suH-
ciently interested to supply the power
to the wine growers at cost; and the
Bureau of Agriculture comedies that
those districts buying least powder
report greatest damage. But even
while the farmers are organizing this
winter to carry on a more general
campaign in the coming season, the
secretary Of the Bureau Of Agriculture
says the Government is not yet ready
to agree that it is fully established
that the cannon firing does protect
the vineyards from hail
Cannon firing to cause rain has
been made the subject of more or less
experimentation in. this country, with
so slight results that The subject Is
rarely heard mentioned in these days.
But if the farmers of France have
kept at their firing to d;sperse storms
for five years and still have such faith
in its efficacy tkat they put more can
non into use each year, it is fair
enough to say that the experiments
are worth pursuing.-New Bedford
Standard. !