The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-07-29
STOCK KILLED
BY LIGHTNING
Number 10 Increasing Each
Year.
BARBED WIRE FENCES
Responsible for the Heavy
Losses
State Fhe Marshal Gives Out
Some Figures Which are Quite
Astonishing.

''piVS py the tHt lbSS VI i've STUCK
by lightning.
In the prairie states, farm mutual
companies have worked out the rem
edy. They find that the loss from
thunderbolts fired along fence wires,
which constitute two-thirds of the to-
tai loss on cattle sorses and sheep
by lightning, can be obviated entire
ly by grounding the wires. Last
summer in Iowa, a single stroke run
ming on a fence wire killed 19 head
of cattle and in Illinois 2S head.
During storm cattle drift before
the wind against a fence and then
to a fence corner. Sharp barbs in
n wire increase It's liability to stroke.
LOOKING FOR MOTHER.
An electrical discharge from the
sky Is always seeking home with
mother earth hut If Il reaches o good
conductor such as on iron wire. II
follows II TO point at which there
Is on easv iump TO the ground A
s'eer being two-thrds water is an
ideal conductor. When wet with rain
ho oivps OF warm vanor which
rnales IN easv path for lightning 10
follow tho earth So. standing near
> charooa wire he Is an easy mark.
An adns'ar in Iowa REPORTS:
fT i~btning tilled three steers about
hnlf milo frop, whnre II struck the
foncn IN one direction. and in the
onnoeite direction COW and colt
wore billad hv the samo discharge. :"
i.n onimals are aouallv liable TO
l'ohtning s+roko Death comes from
shook 70 the nervous system siop-
rino the action Of the heart. They
die iustqntlv. ~ ~ all
THE SrTER'S FUNERAL.
Animals killed bv lightning may he
used for food II. on-heing stuck i'm
medlatelv afterward a copious flow
az blood occurs. Should the escape
of blood be scanty the carcass Is
worthless except for fertilizer.
When skinned aDout two-thirds OF
the animals killed show q line of
discoloration which indicates the
course OF the electrical current The
remainder show no mark or injury.
II has been taught that men or cattle
which show no evidence of injury at
ter death are killed by sudden re-
lelse of the electricity induced in
their bodies before the stroke. Sir
Oliver Lodge, the authority on light
ming, says that this return stroke
as II Is called. "is impotently feeble,
aud that death comes from "a surg
ing and splash of an electrical charge
-4 equilibrium has been dis
tur w local discharge at some
distan1,. Therefore, 1t is from elc-
tro-magnetic momentum.
THE FARM MUTUALS.
Mr.. George W. Miller, OF Bucyrus,
delegate from Ohio to the annual
meeting Of the American Association
OF Mutual Insurance Companies at
Denver, in the name OF the state fire
marshal of Ohio. asked this question:
"Should wire fences be grounded,
and If so what distance apart should
the ground wires be placed?' All
the delegates agreed that the loss OF
stock from lightning was reduced
two-thirds' by the grounding of wire
| fences.
Mr.. F.. Il. Lynch Of Nebraska, said
| that in 900 reports he had had OF
stock killed. 80 per cent stated: "Cat-
| tie lying close to fence, wire melted
and post split" f"
The president OF the association,
Mr.. Forbes, said: .'In my company
| 60 per cent. of the buildings are rod
| ded. On the rodded buildings we
lost two dollars in nine years; and
on the 40 per cent not rodded we
lost $1,000 and the same rule applies
TO grounding wire fences.
In Kansas recently 800 feet OF wire
fence was melted by lightning.
TO GROUND A FENCE.
Officers of a number of Western
mutual companies In reply to ques-
tons from this department, have
given their experience with different
methods of grounding. The size OF
the wire used in the different states
varies from No. IA barbed to 3-S inch
| rod. The distance advised between
ground wires varies from GA to 200
feet. All these methods have proved
satisfactory. Near corners and In
] depressions each post should have q
ground wire.
The instructions given by Mr.. John
Emanuel, North Bend, Neb., are
terse: "Cut galvanized No. ~ wire
IN length OF eight feet. On a rainy
day start the boys out with wagon
and team, hammer and fence sta
Piles and a wagon end gate rod With
this rod they can push hole In the
ground beside the post three feet
| deep. The lower end OF the wire goes
In this aud the upper END projects a