Advantage of elevated pointed Conductors. 825 
glafs cylinder, being intended to reprefent a cloud 
charged with eledlricity or matter of lightning will, for 
diftindlion fake, be called the artificial cloud, in the fol- 
lowing experiments. D reprefents a brafs rod on a Hand 
covered with tin-foil, having a good metallic communica- 
tion with the earth; at one end of this rod were fcrewed 
other rods, terminating with different lized balls, or a 
rod terminating with a point. This rod d was moveable 
in a focket, in order that.it might be placed with its ter- 
mination at different diftances from the ball c at the end 
of the artificial cloud. As the terminations on this rod 
were to receive from our artificial cloud the ftroke or 
fparks of our artificial lightning, it will be called the re- 
ceiving rod in the following experiment. The receiving- 
rod with its Hand was intended to reprefent a conductor 
to a houfe, on which different terminations might be 
placed. 
Before I relate the experiments it may be proper firfl 
to premife, that eledtric fire, drawn off gradually from 
an eledtric cloud, was never known to do any mifchief, 
if the fubftance drawing it off had a good metallic com- 
munication with the moift earth; and that when any 
damage is done, it is occafioned by a ftroke of lightning, 
or in other w r ords the eledlric fire of the charged cloud 
Suddenly difcharged through that body. 
Vo L,. LX VIII. 5 K e x P E- 
