168 THE TIM BUNKER PA.PEES. 



&quot; It stands to reason,&quot; I continued, by way of clinching 

 the argument, &quot; that rain is just as much a Heaven-sent 

 article as lightning. If a man is wise in turning off the 

 rain, by a shingle, he cannot be a fool, or an infidel, in 

 turning off the lightning by an iron rod.&quot; It is surprising, 

 Mr. Editor, to find so much ignorance and prejudice in 

 the community against the use of lightning rods. It is 

 just as well settled, in the minds of all intelligent people, 

 that these conductors are a complete protection against 

 lightning, as it is that roofs are a complete protection 

 against the storm. Roofs sometimes leak, and the rods 

 sometimes do not connect. In either case, the fault is not 

 in the theory, but in the imperfect realization of it. A 

 whole roof is a complete protection against rain. A good 

 rod is a complete safeguard against lightning. And yet 

 we find a hundred roofs where we find one rod. A house 

 or barn is considered finished when the roof is on, and the 

 glass is in the windows. I don t consider it finished until 

 the lightning rod is on. 



Most people consider it pretty good policy to get in 

 sured against fire, though there are some who seem to 

 think it a sort of gambling to do that. A man builds a 

 barn, worth $3,000, and when his stock and hay and grain 

 are in, it is worth not less than $5,000. He gets it in 

 sured, at a cost, say of $10 a year, and thinks it good econ 

 omy. Upon the same principle that a man gets insured 

 against fire, I think he had better get insured against light 

 ning. It is much cheaper, and he has the advantage of 

 being his own insurance company. All the rods that pro 

 tect my barn, with the expense of putting them up, cost 

 only $33, the interest on which is only $2 a year. The 

 protection is perfect, and the rods will last as long as the 

 barn does. Here is $5,000 worth of property made sure 

 against lightning, for $2 a year. 



It is very common to read in the papers of lightning- 

 striking barns setting them on fire, or killing oxen and 



