56 . BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



negative electricity of high tension, and to treat more fully of the 

 philosophy of the electric discharge. On the other hand the 

 endeavor has been to fortify the statements made and the positions 

 taken .by an array of facts as large as the circumstances of the 

 occasion would seem to warrant, but by no means as large as the 

 importance of the subject would justify, and from these facts to 

 make inferences which can but be regarded as well founded. 



It was hoped when this paper was commenced that an amount 

 of statistics gathered from our own State, or from our own section 

 of country, serving more completely to demonstrate the utility or 

 inutility of lightning conductors could be presented. With this 

 end in view letters were addressed with the following questions or 

 arrangements for statistical data, to the officers of about twenty 

 fire insurance companies, including several companies in our own 

 State. In selecting from the foreign companies, those only were 

 chosen that have within the last three years taken risks within 

 this State amounting annually to at least a million dollars : 



Scheme for Statistics. 



1. Number of buildings insured since incorporation. 



2. Number of buildings injured or destroyed by fire. 



3. Number of buildings not furnished with lightning rods, struck 

 by lightning. 



4. Number of buildings furnished with lightning rods, struck 

 by lightning. 



5. Condition of the rods before the stroke, (so far as. ascer- 

 tained) as to points, connections and extending into moist earth. 



6. Are you willing that the statistics be made public ? 



I regret to state that in most cases the courteous answers to the 

 letters of inquiry did not give the desired information, but indi- 

 cated that a large amount of labor would be required to eliminate 

 from business records extending over many years the needed data. 



The statistics furnished by Charles P. Wiggifc, jSsq., of Bangor, 

 Maine, Secretary of the Penobscot Mutual Fire Insurance Corn- 

 pan}', are, however, to the point, and I gladly avail myself of his 

 kindness in putting them at my disposal. The company was 

 authorized to insure against damage by lightning in 1859. The 

 records furnished by Mr. Wiggin date from the time of his enter- 

 ing upon the duty as Secretary, viz., May 1st, 1865. From that 

 date to May 1st, 1871 — 



The number of policies issued by the company, was. . . .5,842 



