ree of the four corners,
three kine were killed by the discharge. The barn stood upon the side of
a hill, having a cellar and sub-cellar, the bottom of the last being
very moist. An ox stood in one corner, a cow in another and a heifer at
a third, and each received a fatal stroke. On examination it was found
that the rods entered the ground to the depth of only about one foot,
and the soil, being dry, perfectly insulated them. Consequently, on the
way to damp earth the currents jumped to the nearest conductors, which
happened to be these unfortunate animals. In placing conductors it must
not be forgotten that dry earth in general is not a conductor. Neither
will any small quantity of surface water serve to check the rage of the
electric stroke, unless there is a connection of moisture with the mass
of moisture below the soil.

The depth to which lightning may penetrate before it is so dissipated as
to lose its dangerous character is shown by the fulgurites, or
"lightning-tubes," sometimes found in sandy soils. Their formation has
been conclusively traced to disruptive electrical discharges from the
clouds, which have melted the sand by the intense heat generated in
passing through to a moist earth. These tubes generally divide into
prongs, like a parsnip, as they descend. The inner surface is smooth and
very bright. It scratches glass and strikes fire as a flint. They are
sometimes found three inches in external diameter, and extending to a
depth of thirty feet. In one instance five of these tubes were found in
a single hill.

This tendency of certain localities to receive the electrical discharge
is further illustrated by the number of times certain buildings in every
considerable town have been struck. As before stated, the elevation of
the structure does not seem to be the determining influence in directing
the stroke, for the unfortunate edifice often stands much lower than
some others in the vicinity which have always been struck. Numerous
illustrations of this can be found in the records of European countries.
Hollis Street Church in Boston has been struck several times, though the
ground on which it stands is but little above the level of the sea,
while the State-House, on the very apex of Beacon Hill, with great
quantities of metal in surface and mass, is not known ever to have
received a disruptive discharge. It has been supposed that the copper
covering of the roof, including the gilded dome, its rain-pipes a