260 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



Answer to question 5. Glass or horn rings for the rod are 

 unnecessary, as electricity never leaves a good conductor to pass 

 over a bad one. 



Answer to question 6. I put a point to every chimney, carry- 

 ing a plain iron wire up in the smoke of the chimney, about two 

 feet above the brick work, as electricity will take the smoke and 

 moisture combined from a fire and follow it down. 



Answer to question *7. It is better to connect the rods all over 

 the house, as the charge can then pass down and off on each to 

 the ground. 



Question. Is a solid brass or copper point as good as silver 

 or gold ? Answer. The only advantage of a sharp point over 

 a blunt one is that it draws off the electricity quietly ; a blunt 

 point causes it to snap and crackle, I suppose a couple of thou- 

 sand dollars are invested in fancy lightning rods within sight of 

 my window. 



Twisted copper rods, hair rods, put up ladder fashion, solid 

 iron as big as a hoe-handle ; each year brings a new crop of 

 patents for lightning rods. Now, let me tell you how I make 

 lightning rods. Go to the hardware store and buy a bundle of 

 iron wire of about the size of the largest used for telegraph 

 wire, or near the size of a pipe stem ; build a fire of chips and 

 sticks exactly as the blacksmith heats his wagon tires, and anneal 

 the bundle of wire to make it flexible and tough. Have a quan- 

 tity of light staples made by the blacksmith of a size to straddle 

 the wire. Then carry your wire over the ridge-pole at one end 

 of the house to the ground at the opposite side of the end, serve 

 the other end of the house ditto, so that the wire comes down 

 each corner of the house, snugly fastened every four feet with a 

 staple. Then carry a wire along the ridge-pole and twisted 

 around the two end wires and soldered fast to the same, and so 

 up each chimney, bending it so as to stand above and over the 

 centre of the flue — the wire merely rounded with a file at the 

 ends. Now, sir, for the lower end of these rods ; and all is use- 

 less, and worse than useless, unless this part is properly arranged ; 

 for this part, take strips of sheet copper (such as tinmen use to 

 make kettles, tinned on one side), one inch or one inch a and 

 half in width, solder lengths enough together to reach from the 

 Avire down to water in the ground ; turn a ferrule on the upper 

 end of the copper, and slip it over the bottom of the rod and 

 solder it fast, the lower end of the strip buried in the ground 



