LIGHTNING AND LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS. 1 3 



June 12th, 1846. It is worthy of remark, however, that 

 although the mast and some parts of the rigging suffered 

 much from the lightning, it was safely conducted overboard 

 on both occasions. The damage suffered by the Hazard, 

 June 12th, 1846, is very likely to have arisen from these very 

 circumstances. " Lightning struck the ship, splitting and 

 carrying away main-topgallant and royal-mast, the whole of 

 the main-topmast from the hounds to the lower cap, damag- 

 ing the top, and sprung the after cross-tree, split and carried 

 away starboard tressel-tree ; a splinter from main-topmast 

 passing through the starboard side of the quarter-deck, the 

 electric fluid escaping from the conductor by the main rigging 

 overboard." In this case, nothing is said about injury to the 

 wire-rope conductor, which, no doubt, was on the opposite 

 side of the ship to that on which the lightning entered the 

 rigging; and it is very likely that the lightning was very 

 much attenuated amongst the masts and other parts which 

 it destroyed or damaged, before any part of it arrived at the 

 conductor. Indeed, the whole force of the discharge could 

 never arrive at the conductor, because much of it would be 

 carried off by the main-mast to the deck, and thence to the 

 sea. 



79. If the Hazard were fitted with conductors in the man- 

 ner that Commander Darley describes those of the Electra, 

 viz., one to each mast, they would be still more liable to entail 

 danger on the rigging than conductors fitted into the masts ; 

 because an approaching discharge from the other side of the 

 ship, if it did not attack the conductor at the mast head, 

 would have to pass through some part of the rigging before 

 it could arrive at* it. This must always be the case where 

 the rigging is protected on one side only. 



80. But there are other serious objections to the wire-rope 

 conductors, (unless very differently applied than on board the 

 Electra,) which Commander Darley says " are composed of 

 copper wire-rope, one to each mast ; they are passed through 



