Notes. 197 



exportation of fruit, and admit that throug-h lack of thoroughness, 

 South African fruit growers relinquished their hold on the trade of 

 the world." 



It is not the privilege of every grower to see his fruit displayed 

 for sale oversea, Isut if he would endeavour to picture the deterio- 

 rated article turned out for competition with the world's choicest 

 products, he cannot fail to- understand the poor prices sometimes 

 received . 



Protection against Hail: The Parahail. 



In 1899 there was introduced into France by the Comte de 

 Beauchamp and General de Negrier a device that is now widely known 

 as the electric " Parahail." It is, in reality, a gigantic lightning 

 conductor, to which the name of " Electric Niagara " has also been 

 given, as indicating the great quantity of electricity it can cause to 

 be discharged into the atmosphere. The object is to neutralize the 

 electricity of the hail-cloud which, according to the theory of the 

 inventors, is dangerous only on account of its high electric potential, 

 the belief being that if. by means of this perfected lightning 

 conductor, the potential of the hailstorm, which is charged with 

 positive electricity, can be sufficiently lowered by the efflux of the 

 negative electricity of the soil, the hail will either be dissolved and 

 fall as rain or become so soft as to cause no damage. 



In South Africa, where parts of the country are subject to 

 devastating hailstorms, the French device has naturally created 

 considerable interest, and the Department is frequently approached 

 for information regarding the efficacy of the parahail as a protection 

 for life and crops against liail and lightning. The latest information 

 on the subject has just come to hand from the Director of the National 

 Meteorological Office,- Paris, who gives the conclusions arrived at by 

 M. Courty, Astronomer to the Observatory at Bordeaux. After a very 

 complete study of the question, M. Courty writes: "If the parahails 

 have exercised on these points (the posts established since 1912 in the 

 department of Gironde and, since 1914, in that of Dordogne) any 

 beneficial influence whatever, it must be admitted that it is feeble, 

 and I believe one would have little difficulty in finding an equal 

 number of unprotected stations where hail has not caused any more 

 damage during the same period." 



M. Courty considers that the experiments with the parahails 

 should be continued for several years longer, and gives the following 

 opinion : " Parahails in general are by no means hurtful, very far 

 from that; if their efficacy as protectors against hail may still be 

 contested, they possess at least the indisputable advantage of being 

 lightning protectors of the most perfect type, and no serious-minded 

 person can possibly believe that they attract hail." The study of 

 hailstorms in his area carried out by M. Courty during 1918, leads 

 him to the following conclusions: "These facts confirm the conclu- 

 sions drawn last year from the experiments of the five preceding 

 years relative to the protective role of the parahails. They are 

 exclusively — we have said and we repeat — excellent lightning 

 conductors. As for their hail-protecting value, it seems pretty certain 

 that it is practically nil." 



