$48 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



small-frame houses. We are often asked if these storms are on 

 the increase. The answer is simple: they are not. As the 

 western and south-western states become thickly settled casual- 

 ties may seem more frequent, but the storms are of normal 

 number. Losses to life and property, while not being greatly 

 exaggerated — for the old-fashioned tornado " scare " headline 

 has gone out of fashion in Western journalism — are by no means 

 out of proportion to the general average of living risks. This is 

 proved by tornado insurance, a thriving branch of the business. 

 As Prof. Cleveland Abbe wrote after the disastrous tornado of 

 Kirksville, Miss., April 2j } 1899: "In a few states, such as 

 Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, 

 Missouri, and New Jersey, the probability that a given spot 

 one mile square will be struck by a tornado is about once in 

 a thousand years." Lightning and fire are much more danger- 

 ous to mankind. Another fact important for residents of New 

 York is that it has never suffered from a tornado, severe as have 

 been some storms in its vicinity. 



Wallingford city in New Haven County, Conn., is not so far 

 away. In August, 1878, there occurred a veritable "twister" 

 of the veritable pattern ; 34 persons were killed, 70 wounded, 

 damage $200,000 (or about £40,000). Camden, New Jersey, a 

 city opposite Philadelphia, suffered from a small tornado in 

 August, 1885 ; 6 persons were killed, 100 injured, 500 houses 

 razed, loss $500,000. I visited the scene of disaster the next day, 

 and some of the buildings were levelled as if they had undergone 

 a bombardment ; yet across the Delaware river in Philadelphia 

 there was no untoward disturbance — just a thunderstorm of 

 average intensity. January, 1889, a most unusual season for 

 " twisters," Brooklyn enjoyed a visit from a genuine whirlwind, 

 funnel and all. It took place at 7.30 p.m. Its width was 500 

 to 600 feet, length 2 miles, whirl from right to left, roar heard 

 10 to 15 minutes before, loss $300,000. This was getting very 

 near home. Chicago had a fright in 1876; the storm-cloud left 

 the sky and bounded like a ball. St. Louis in 1890 caught a 

 tartar, and May 25, 1896, it was bombarded by a tornado that 

 played havoc, even shifting the massive new bridge at one end. 

 Louisville, Kentucl<ry, was the heaviest sufferer of all when, 

 March 27, 1890, a cloud traversed part of the city, killing y6, 

 injuring 200, and damaging $2,250,000 worth of property. And 

 this cloud, described as turnip-shaped, did not touch the ground ; 



