Natural History. 367 



not lost by the snow for twelve or fifteen minutes. The evening 

 became again mild and calm, but lowering, and very dark. 

 The natives had not witnessed any similar appearance before, 

 and many of them believed it the forerunner of some dire cala- 

 mity, that was to befal their mountain land. — Rev. Colin Smith. 

 Edin. Phil. Jour.^ xii. 405. * 



8. Effects of Lightning ; lateral discharge. — Dr. Fusinieri ref- 

 lates, that being in an upper story of his house, at Vicenza, at a 

 time when lightning fell 400 or 500 yards off, there appeared to 

 him in the room at the moment certain luminous flocculi, of various 

 dimensions, making a cracking noise, like electric scintillations, 

 proceeding from a Avdndow in the direction of a diagonal line, 

 ara^vn from a steeple struck by lightning. The scmtillations 

 were very distinct in the universal gloom which existed, and the 

 cracking noise sufficiently convinced him that the effect was not 

 an optical illusion. Dr. Fusinieri thinks the fact proves that 

 a torrent of electricity radiates, not merely light, but electricity 

 itself, and considers the effect as tending to explain, more dis- 

 tinctly than heretofore, what has been called the lateral discharge 

 of lightning. 



The lightning fell on the church of San Giuliano, and there 

 affected some persons. One Sig. Tomiello, whose left arm was 

 bare, was struck by it. Upon reoovering from the state of in- 

 sensibility into which he was thrown, it was found that the 

 naked arm had five wounds, like cuts, attended with effusion of 

 blood ; and it was three months before the limb was well again. 

 It is to be remarked, that the same arm was injured three years 

 previously, by some fire-works. 



For five months, nothing particular was observed in the arm, 

 but on May 2, 1824, a thunder-storm occurred, when the use of 

 the arm was suddenly lost, and a sensation of great heat expe- 

 rienced from the hand to the elbow. In two or three days, these 

 effects disappeared. On the 15th of May, similar weather re- 

 turned, . and the same sensation of heat ; the arm feeling on fire, 

 and allowing of no rest at night. The day following, the heat had 

 ceased, the arm felt in pain and fatigued, but in three days, all 

 was well again. Finally, whenever, during the year, any return of 

 similar weather took place, the same effects were observed, 

 namely, diminished motion in the arm, sensation of great heat, 

 and a sense of heavy obtuse pain and fatigue, principally where 

 the five wounds had existed. 



It was found that the sensation of great heat was not accom- 

 panied by any actual elevation of temperature in the part, the 

 temperature of the whole arm being uniform. It was found, 

 also, that no effect of this kind could be produced by vicinit;y of 

 the arm to a charged conductor of an electrical machine, or 



