_Thunder and Lightning._

Conductors affixed to houses should always be pointed, and the point
should be kept in a state of cleanliness, and the conductors should
terminate in a moist stratum of earth, or in London it might safely be
conveyed into the common sewer. It has been objected to the use of
pointed conductors, that we invite the lightning to the point; and that
is true to a certain extent, and in gunpowder mills the conductor should
be placed at some distance from the building. The conducting rod should
be of copper or iron, and from half to three-fourths of an inch in
diameter, so as not to be readily forced. Its upper end should be
elevated about three or four feet above the highest part of the
building, and all the metallic parts of the roof should be connected
with the rod, which should be continuous throughout. As regards the
question of what is the safest situation in a thunder-storm, we should
be pretty safe in the middle of a large room in bed; we should be pretty
safe among the feathers, which are bad conductors; but as the bell-wires
will conduct the electricity into the room, the bed should be removed
from them. It would be well to stand at a distance from the chimney on
a woollen rug, which is a non-conductor. When out of doors, I scarcely
need to say, that you should never stand under a tree; the tree being
moist, the electric fluid generally passes down between the bark and the
substance of the tree, splitting it in all directions, and the lightning
will pass to the best conductor near it; if any unfortunate animal
should happen to be under the tree, it will be killed. The safest plan
is to go toward the middle of the field, at a distance from any tree,
and to stretch yourself out upon the ground, although this is not a very
pleasant situation, especially in hard rain. During a thunder-storm, the
earth is in a state of electricity as well as the clouds, and the light
and heat which are produced at the explosion indicate the annihilation