NOTE ON A LIGHTNING DISCHARGE. 
l>eneath the giirfaee of the j^roumd, to reach {iharged pieces of 
wat<;r, throwing out branches oa their way to discharge the 
intervening surface of the ground. 
Wlien anything nimilar to this takes place on or near a 
huilding on which there is a conductor, it is at once put down to 
a bad earth- connection, while apparently it is due to the wet 
aurface of the ground being a better eoiidnctor than the stratum 
lying i>etween the subsoil and the charged surface. 
Cases in which large numlwrs of shet^p, cattle or people 
have Ixieu killed hv lightning are easily comprehended, after 
looking at this sketeli- Jt is evident that had a number of 
peojjleor cattle been standing beneath these trees and occupying 
the space covered by the furrows, that tht^y would have consti- 
tuted the charged siirface and that the discharge would have 
passed through tlieir bodies instead of, as in this instance, 
throti^h the ground. 
The ^iractieal deductions to ho drawn from this case seem 
to be that all surfat^es which art; liable to become charged should 
Lh! put in wunmunication with the system of condu(:tors on a 
huildiug. In other words all roofs should Ik? connected 1>y their 
ridges and gutters. While, as much as jMtssible, lightning con- 
ductors should be arrangod so as to be lightning distributors. 
For this jmrpose all the conducfjors on a building should be 
connected together, and the earth-plivt(?a so sp!U.!ed round it that 
the discharge may Ijc spread out over as large a surface as 
possible. 
