REVIEWS 123 



them as a protective device," still it contains much of interest and value 

 to the forester, for lightning and its results are to be taken seriously 

 by him. 



Numerous tables are given showing the total number of fires caused 

 by lightning (forest fires evidently not included) by States, analysis of 

 fires by causes, statement of deaths by lightning, etc., obtained from 

 State fire marshals and insurance companies. During 1910 the total 

 fire loss in the United States is given as approximately $250,000,000 ; 

 of this 3.31 per cent, or about $8,500,000, may be attributed to fires 

 caused by lightning. The author does not state whether this heavy 

 fire loss in 1910 included the loss of timber and other property caused 

 by the disastrous forest fires of that year or not; in fact, nowhere 

 in the entire bulletin is there mention of forest fires or lightning in its 

 relation to forest fires, in any way ! 



As regards the loss of human life from lightning the author esti- 

 mates, from fairly accurate statistics, that for the years immediately 

 preceding and following 1910 "during the course of a year 1,500 

 or more persons" are affected by lightning stroke in the United States, 

 of which number about one-third are killed. Census data shows that 

 more than nine-tenths of the fatalities due to lightning occur in rural 

 districts. 



Considerable space is given to a discussion of lightning rods, his- 

 torically and scientifically, the form, structure, materials, manufacture, 

 etc., with the conclusion that a lightning rod is a good thing, and that 

 a poor lightning rod on a building is better than no rod at all. From 

 available data lightning rods reduce the fire hazard from lightning by 

 80 to 90 per cent in the case of houses and as much as 99 per cent in the 

 case of barns. 



Fire hazards from lightning in barns and houses is discussed, with 

 the conclusion that a person is safer from lightning in a house than in 

 a barn, also that far more barns than houses are destroyed by lightning, 

 which is logical, due to the relative difiference in inflammability. Sta- 

 tistics are given showing that of 200 barns struck 87.5 per cent were 

 fired, while of 325 houses struck only 23 per cent were fired. The 

 chances for the occupants of a lightning-struck house escaping injury is 

 given as 45 out of each 100. Considerable space is devoted to methods 

 of safeguarding human life and livestock in fields from lightning. 



The publication has a complete summary of thirty-one conclusions, 

 among which the author finds that during lightning storms houses are 

 safer than barns or isolated buildings, that under thick timber is safer 



