Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 227, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 September 1916 — PROTECT STRAWSTACKS. [ARTICLE]

PROTECT STRAWSTACKS.

For several years an lowa farmer has protected his strawstacks with lightning rods in the same manner that he protects his farm buildings. The uprights on a stack are supported on a footboard which runs the full length of the stack, along the ridge, The rods are grounded through gas pipes, the lower ends of which are buried deep in the earth. This apparatus is used from year to year. -When a stack is to be removed the cable and rods are rolled up and put aside until a new stack has been built. The device can be quickly and easily installed. Though twelve trees on this farm and three barns on neighboring farms have been stuck by lightning in ercent years, the bams and stacks on this farm have so far enjoyed complete immunity from damage by lightning. —From the April Popular Mechanics Magazine.