RAIN-MAKING EXPERIMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12524, 17 March 1904, Page 6

RAIN-MAKING EXPERIMENTS.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,l have read with interest your leaderette of even date on the above subject, and would beg to submit to you and that portion of the publio generally who have considered the subject, what seems to me a simple and almost obvious solution of the question, although, strange to say, I have never seen it offered before by anyone writing on this matter, which makes me very diffident in offering my opinion, as J speak purely as a layman, having no pretence to scientific knowledge, and am merely endeavouring to arrive at a logical conclusion from facts which I have noted, and which, I think, may be generally accepted. As a boy I noticed it was a subject of remark that whenever the yearly review was held in the old Albert Barracks on the Queen's Birthday, and salutes were given by firing off cannon, heavy rain almost always followed ver\ closely. This impressed my boyish mind so much that I have consequently taken a keen mental note over since of the results that have followed from recorded explosions in the air caused by firing cannon, or by other means, either for the special purpose of bringing down rain or for other reasons, and as a result of my observations I have come to a conclusion, which seems to me the only logical one. It appears to be proved beyond doubt that cannon-firing, or other means of causing a heavy concussion of the atmosphere, is in most countries generally followed closely by a heavy fall of rain, while, on the other hand, in extremely arid districts similar concussions have usually had little or no effect, the natural conclusion being, to my mind, that whero there is aqueous vapour, in the atmosphere within reach of the influence of the concussion, it' is speedily condensed by it, and the result is a heavy rain in a very short time, the amount of which is dependent on the quantity of aqueous vapour at the time then present in the portion of the atmosphere within the influence of the concussion, and also the density of the latter. If, however, there is little or no aqueous vapoui within that influence, such as is probably the case in the desert of Sahara, or the interior of Australia at a time of drought, any concussion of the air by cannon or other means would probably have little or no effect, as the concussion/! imagine, could not produce aqueous vapour, but would only condense it if within * the reach of , its influence. . .' ; - .

If the above, conclusion is correct it; would seem that concussion ol the atmosphere can only be used with success for bringing down rain in districts where the downfall might not be generally desired, though it might occasionally be of service in some countries suffering from a temporary drought, where aqueous vapour in the atmosphere was with.-.

in roach of it™ influence, but .for moSfc ritj, ; tricts where rain was badly required it would : bo of little- or no service.— am, «to., ■ March. 15, 190*. G. H. BtAOKBtraMB