DAMAGE DONE. 667 



Number of Thunder-storms 

 Name of Country. per annum. 



Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Hannover, 



West Prussia 13 



North Eussia 10 



Little Eussia 9 



Sweden and Finland 8 



England and Swiss Alps .... 7 

 Norway . . . . . .4 



There has been no increase in the last thirty years in the 

 number of thunder-storms in Germany, Austria and Switzer- 

 land, but in most other European countries their frequency 

 has increased almost threefold, and this is considered to be 

 due to increase of railways, metallic roofs and pipes for gas, 

 water, etc., inside houses. The increased smoke from factories 

 also favours thunder-storms. 



Some interesting facts regarding trees killed by lightning 

 are given below. 



1848 (early in July) : Fifty-two Scots pines about 125 

 years old were killed by lightning at Sprillgehorge, in 

 Hannover, only one of them being directly struck. 



1865 (spring) : Seventy 60-year-old spruce trees, only one 

 of which was struck, were killed by lightning in the Harz 

 Mountains. 



1868 (llth May) : A green spruce tree struck and burned in 

 Kothenwald, in Eeuss. 



1876 (17th July) : After a long drought, a dried-up moor 

 stocked with a thicket of 11 -year-old Scots pines and 

 spruce was fired by lightning at Aurich, near Neuenwalde. 



1887 (summer) : Two lightning strokes about 70 feet 

 apart killed all the trees on about one-fifth of an acre stocked 

 with Scots pines and a few beech near Neustadt. 



1887 (15th July) : Seventy-two large spruce trees were 

 killed by one stroke of lightning at Bruckenberg. It was 

 clearly seen from marks on the branches that the lightning 

 had passed from tree to tree. 



1891 (summer) : On a road in Ober Hesse lightning struck 

 twelve wooden posts (spruce poles 8 feet high and 2 inches in 

 diameter) that were supporting plants of sycamore and oak 



