Wisconsin State Agricultural Society . 105 
3. When the roof of the house is of metal, it is advisable to put 
it in connection with the rod by strips of copper soldered to each. 
When there are large masses of metal in a building, especially if 
they extend to some distance in a vertical direction, these also 
should be connected with the conductor. 
4. That which most of all needs attention in erecting conductors, 
is proper connection with the earth. Failure here is fatal. A rod 
not properly connected with the ground is worse than useless. And 
yet failure just here is most common and least likely to be observ¬ 
ed. We believe that nearly all the cases in which conductors have 
failed to secure protection, have been owing to some defect in this 
particular. All the cases which have come under our observation, 
were readily traced to this cause. The common method is to insert 
the lower end of the rod some five or six feet into the ground, with¬ 
out regard to the character of the soil. Even if the ground were 
permanently moist we regard this entirely insufficient. A rod 
thus inserted into dry sand, would to say the least, afford no protec¬ 
tion. 
If gas or water pipes are in use within a house, the rod should be 
connected with the mains or large pipes in the streets by a strip 
of copper wrapped several times around the pipe, one end being 
soldered to the rod and the other to the pipe. In such houses, this 
connection is essential to perfect safety. In houses where these 
pipes are not found, the best method is to have the rod terminate 
in a well of water. Where this is not practicable, two or three 
branches should run off from the building several feet. These 
/ 
should be placed in trenches so deep as to be always in the moist 
ground. They should be surrounded by fresh powdered charcoal 
and terminate in a large plate of metal deep in the moist ground. 
The object to be secured is large extent of surface with perma¬ 
nently moist ground. 
The rod, of coarse, should be firmly fastened to the house, should 
take the most direct course practicable to the ground, and all sud¬ 
den changes of direction in the rod, or projections from its surface 
should be avoided. Glass insulators, w r e regard of very little 
importance. 
In conclusion, we would urge upon farmers especially the impor¬ 
tance of not neglecting the means of protecting their homes and 
bams from lightning. Isolated buildings, not surrounded by large 
