Dry Ice Test On Clouds Not Proven

Chronicle (Levin), 22 March 1948, Page 7

Dry Ice Test On Clouds Not Proven

HASTINGS, Mareh 21. Eaeed with the possible ioss of valuable ..crops a Hawke's Bay farmer, Mr. W. .-Shrimpton, this summer attempted t'o ereate artifieial rain over. his Matapiro station property near Hastings. The experiment was the first of its- kind undertaken in New Zealand, but although t-he flight was followed by a beneficial downpour of rain it is consldered by Mr. Shrimpton that the tests reallv proved ' nothing beeause of the faet thatNone or two clouds were seeded. with dry ice would not be sufficient to eau'se such general rain. Arrangements for the supply of dry ice for the experiment were made by Mr. Shrimpton when dry conditions threatened to cause heavy loss on 600 acres of rape and chou moelJier. A wait of three- weeks was necessary before suitable meteorologieal conditions developed and the dry iee was then flown from Auckland to Gisborne by a National Airways plane and brought on from there in one of the Hawke'S Bay and East Coast Aero Glub's tnachines. The dry ice was held in cooi store in Hastings overnight, and nest day a Tiger Moth piloted by the club's instructor (Mr. M. T. Vanderpump) witb Mr. Shrimpton and the dry ice in the coekpit flew to the Matapiro station where it landed in a suitable field until the plan of action was prepared. Taking olf the sanie afternoon the aircraft was taken up to a height of between 7000ft and 8000ft where Mr. Shrimpton wearing" asbestos gloves unloaded bOlbs of dry ice on to moist- . looking clouds. Rain began to falJ wlthin a fevv "minutes, but tliere was nothing to prove that this' wa,s the result of the cxpeninent.