34 



are a weakness if they rotate on the upright, for in constantly oscillating with the 

 wind they in time wear the uprights until they bend and sometimes even break 

 off at the vane. Both balls and vanes add to the appearance, but the latter had 

 better be dispensed with, unless they rotate on a stationary collar. When strong 

 tubes are used as uprights there is no serious objection to the balls, for they are 

 not likely to catch enough wind to do any damage. 



Metallic Bodies Should Be Connected in the System 



6, Metallic Parts of Structure. — Lightning-rod companies here differ consid- 

 erably in practice. Some connect all metallic portions of the structure to the 

 rods, others do not. The former is undoubtedly the better practice. If the metal 

 body is a long one, like a steel track, roof-gutter, or eave-trough and conductor pipe, 

 both ends of it should be connected to the rods, or one end to the rod and the other 

 grounded. Where buildings are already rodded, but the rod runs straight from 

 the peak to the ground, leaving the eave-troughs and conductor pipes unconnected 

 and ungrounded, this could easily be remedied by connecting one end to the cable 

 and grounding the other end by a new ground-rod. 



Telephones should always be protected by " lightning arresters." This we 

 believe is always looked after by the telephone companies. 



Some Cases of Defective Eodding. 



« 



In this relation we wish to refer to an occurrence that took place in the town- 

 ship of Adelaide, County of Middlesex, during the past summer. Two barns belong- 

 ing to Mr. Harold Currie were burned on June 6th, 1913. It was reported to us 

 that they were rodded. We wrote to Mr. Currie at once. Here is his answer : 



" Yours of August 25th to hand, and in reply wish to say that my two barns were 

 burned by lightning on the night of June 6th, 1913. They were rodded, and the rods were 

 in first-class condition with no dead ends. In fact, the Inspector of Insurance Company 

 examined the rod after the fire, and pronounced it in good condition and there 

 was not a break in it. Then, since receiving your letter, I pulled the end out of 

 the ground to measure the length, and it was nine feet in the ground. 



Mr. , of , put the rods on five years ago. The barns were new and were 



upon cement and brick walls. Of course, one was struck and the other caught from it. 

 As to the name of the rod I can't tell you, but it was a round cable of coppered wire. 

 The barn that was struck was 56 ft. x 46 ft, and had three points on it, and the rod ran 

 down at the north end only. This barn was also covered with Galvanized Iron Shingles, 

 the Oshawa shingle, manufactured by the Pedlar People, and was troughed all to one 

 corner where the conductor pipe ran down into the 4-inch tile which carried the water 

 away. Now, Sir, I wish to state a few facts. I had in those buildings (at the time of 

 the fire) a number of valuable race horses, and had just come from the barn and was 

 standing at the door of the house watching the storm, and saw the lightning come down 

 but could not tell whether or not it hit the barn, as it dazzled my eyes and staggered me 

 back against the door. When I got my sight again there was no sign of fire, so I went 

 into the house to go to bed, and in passing a window saw what looked like a lantern in 

 the southwest corner of the barn. I am satisfied that the rods were not touched, but 

 that the lightning went down the conductor pipe, which, by the way, had a length broken 

 out by the wind on Good Friday, just at the top of the brick wall, and as this mow was 

 filled with straw and summer bedding for the horses, it caught fire and burned fiercely. 

 I am of the opinion that if the pipe had not been broken I would have had no fire. I 

 was insured in the London Mutual Co. I have noticed since the number of barns that 

 have the conductor pipe come down just to the bottom of the timber, which is a trap, 

 for if lightning ever comes down that pipe it will surely go into the barn at that point. 



" If there is anything that I have not made clear to you I will be pleased to answer 

 any further questions." 



