XXV111. ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS. 



The paper concludes with an extract from a recent report by an 

 Italian Commission to the Public Works Department of the 

 Government of Italy, which is generally favourable to the rack 

 rather than the adhesion principle in alternatives such as that 

 referred to, and stating its suitability to many localities and cir- 

 cumstances in that country. 



2. "On the damage done to the Seal Rocks Lighthouse by light- 

 ning on July 10th," by C. W. Darley, M.Inst. C.e. 



Mr. C. W. Darley said that the lighthouse tower was fitted 

 with a solid copper lightning conductor extending half round, and 

 was attached at the top to the copper roof of the lantern. The 

 electric fluid evidently entered the vane on top of the lantern dome, 

 the end being bent and fused, and thence passed down the lightning 

 rod. A portion of the current was communicated to the electric 

 bell wires on the middle floor. These wires led to the principal 

 and assistant light-keepers' quarters, and were laid underground in 

 a 1 in. iron pipe for a distance of 300 ft. The current had tried to 

 make earth at three places, for the pipe was burst and the earth 

 above blown away. The wires led up the verandah posts, and 

 the wooden casing had been torn off and split into fragments. A 

 piece of sheet iron had been blown off and thrown with such force 

 that it cut a passage through a pailing fence six feet away. The 

 iron ceiling and staircase must have been thoroughly charged, for 

 numerous spots appeared where the paint had been blown off and 

 the bare iron underneath was fused. The iron ceiling under this 

 floor was fastened with screws, and the heads of several had been 

 blown off. One piece of stout zinc was blown for a distance of 

 forty feet, and the lids of the oil tanks were blown off and 

 destroyed. The concrete flooring was also damaged. He thought 

 the whole cause of the damage was due to the lightning conductor 

 not making an efficient earth connection. In conclusion the 

 author said that a lesson to be learnt from this occurrence was 

 the necessity for insulating the bell wires. 



Some exhibits were shown by the author, and they added a 

 good deal of interest to his paper. 



