
A blasted pine stub near Raquette Lake, Adirondacks. Note that tree struck was tallest of the group 
rack. Hemlock, spruce, white oak, 
birch, ash, maple, and beech are also 
struck. In Southern States such as 
Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, 
Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida 
it is conservatively estimated that 30,- 
000 trees are annually struck by light- 
ning. Longleaf pine is the outstand- 
ing lightning attractor here, but the 
heavy rains which usually accompany 
lightning minimize the fire hazard. 
N Arkansas, Indiana and parts of 
Missouri and Illinois 90 trees have 
been struck in a single year, including 
white oak, black oak, red oak, Spanish 
oak, black walnut and several species of 
hickory. Trees are frequently struck in 
Massachusetts and North Carolina, 
particularly in the Appalachians. In 
this territory Chestnut leads in liabil- 
ity to stroke, followed by several species 
of quercus and pinus, and yellow pop- 
lar. 
The same flash may strike and blast 
a number of trees, and the results may 
be fully as curious and erratic as the 
lightning itself. A tree may be 
scorched, it may be stripped of its 
leaves, it may be cleft longitudinally, 
or, more rarely, severed horizontally. 
Pieces of bark or wood may be torn off 
in strips. One-half of a tree’s crown 
may be withered, the other remaining 
unharmed. Indeed, it has been alleged 
that the big trees of California have 

A 36-inch Douglas fir destroyed by a lightning stroke 
Page 533 
actually been stunted by lightning. Al- 
though giants, the height of these 
trees is much lower than would be ex- 
pected from the taper of their boles. 
Sometimes lightning strips the bark 
from only one side of a tree, occasion- 
ally without a trace of burning; again, 
the tree may be riddled as by worms 
with multitudinous little holes. Light- 
ning furrows may be oblique or spiral, 
the current following the grain of the 
new wood. The dry duff or humus at 
the base of the tree may be ignited by 
the flash. A flash of lightning strik- 
ing upward through the tree from its 
base acts as an explosive. The tree 
may then be torn into small fragments; 
cases have been recorded where these 
appeared like pieces of hemp. The trees 
may be split radially. The tops of 
trees have been torn off while the lower 
parts remained uninjured. On _ the 
other hand, the lower portion of a tree 
has been demolished, while the upper 
part fell to the ground intact. Light- 
ning will strike the same tree not only 
twice, but several times; numerous 
trees have as many as eight lightning 
scars. 
HE effect of lightning on the ground 
is as remarkable as its effect upon 
trees. It may enter the ground with- 
out disturbing it or heating it, or it 
may tear large holes or melt the sur- 
face. Lightning usually strikes the 
ground with a vertical stroke, but it 
(Continued on page 562) 
