Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1910-12-03
Electric Prevention of Hail

| All parts OF the WOflQ ale more Oh
less subject to hail, and these devast
ating storms are annually destructive
OF millions of dollars worth of crops
throughout the werld. However. hal
in many parts OF the United States
is not an incident of tremendous i'm
portance 10 crop growers, and the big
cereal crops do not suffer 10 any very
pronounced degree from such hail as
does attack them.
Throughout Central Europe there is
| different state of affairs, for in this
region OF the earth hail descends very
! frequently. and the fruit. vegetables
! and especially the grape crops. suffer
/ more from hail than from any other
single source Therefore. scientists
| for many years have attempted TO dis
cover some method of lessening the
big financial losses that in some years
| bring absolute poverty TO millions OF
agricultural people.
Huge cannon have been kept for
years in these sections and have been
shot ut all threatening hail clouds; ,
bombs of enormous power have been
exploded. and even powerful kites
have been loaded with high explosives
and sent up into the clouds. The
bombs on the kites were then fred by
electricity through wire attached 10
tine kites and have frequently destroy
cd the hail clouds.
Yet despite the expense and trouble
of maintaining the hail fighters
(which has been done like the vOlun-
teer fire engine companies in rural
districtsl the losses from hail in Cen
trail Europe have in certain years
amounting TO millions. All of which
has led to serious scientific efforts TO
combat the special class of stc:msI
that produce heavy showers of hail
In a particular part of Central,
Europe a method has been tried that
for several years. is said to have pre-
vented q single hailstorm of any i'm
portance. The method lies in alb
stracting large amounts OF the cleo
tricity from the atmosphere. Ii Is
claimed that hail storms result from
certain electrical conditions which
can only come about when the air is
heavily charged with the electric
fluid.
The use OF bombs. explosive kites
and big cannons, at their best. did mo-
more than drive the hail clouds from
one section of country TO another. so
that a. regards the general welfare
there was no actual benefit to the
crops. But the new method not only
prevents hail storms in the immediate
vicinity. but lessons their probability
in the surrounding country
Tho method nj extracting the cleo
tricity that threatens to produce a
hail storm is to affiX TO high buildings
or to the tops of lofty trees numerous
blades OF lure copper. These blades
are conn:ced in turn with huge
sheet of copper, which is electrolytic.
The pure copper arrows high up in
the air tdraw a marvellous amount OF
electricity from the upper currents
of the atmosphere. Most O. this Is
drawn down silently and without any
electric fash and its accompanying
thunder. A big pond of water nearby
carries off the electricity
Of course, in such a district no a.
tempt can be made TO do more than |
keep the electrical excess below the |
point where hail would be formed
This. ii is claimed. sas heen done in |
the sEienne dfetrict 80 thoroughly that
in country section where hail was.
terrible source of damage to growing
crops there has not been a single hat
Storm for seven years. $ As a result
the authorities have taken up the mat. |
ter and It's application on vast scale |
is said TO be practically certain