SINGULAR EFFECTS OF FIRES, ETC. 305 



In the year 1788 the devastation committed 

 by a hailstorm amounted to twenty-five millions 

 of francs! It becomes, therefore, assuredly a 

 serious question whether means for averting 

 these wide-spread calamities might not be suc- 

 cessfully adopted. 



Propositions proceeding upon similar prin- 

 ciples have also been made for bringing down 



,&m I $Ki^>-gS s 





PEAIEIE ON PIEB. 



artificial rains ! It is well known that the 

 Indians of Paraguay, when their crops are 

 threatened by drought, adopt the expedient of 



