a Thunder-storm as observed at Woolwich, 423 



silken cord, and through the air to the blades of grass, which 

 also became luminous, on their points and edges, over a sur- 

 face of some yards in circumference. We also saw a com- 

 plete globe of fire pass over the silken cord between the wire 

 and reel of the kite-string. The soldiers thought it about the 

 size of a musket-ball. It was exceedingly brilliant, and was 

 the only one that we noticed. 



I had no electrometer with me, nor any of the apparatus 

 with which J perform chemical and magnetical experiments 

 by atmospheric electricity; hence the whole of the time on 

 this occasion was devoted to mere observation. 



The following is a notice, extracted from the Lancaster Ga- 

 zette of the 5th of April last, of some experiments made with 

 an electrical kite at Kirkby Lonsdale, in Westmoreland : — 



On Saturday the 29th of March, I had a very favourable 

 opportunity of demonstrating experimentally to several of 

 my friends at Kirkby Lonsdale, who had attended my recent 

 course of lectures at that place, that an abundance of the elec- 

 tric fluid usually attends hail and snow storms. The wind 

 was pretty brisk, cold, and from the W. by N. nearly the 

 whole of the day. There were several hail showers, each of 

 which, with a simultaneous increase of wind, became a com- 

 plete transient storm. 



During three of these hail-storms, I floated one of my 

 silken electric kites, with a wired string of about 300 yards long, 

 and insulated in the usual way by means of a silken cord. 



The kite was elevated in each experiment about ten mi- 

 nutes prior to the arrival of the hail-storm ; and the electric 

 state of the atmosphere ascertained, which was found to be so 

 exceedingly feeble that not the slightest spark could be ob- 

 served. As, however, the cloud from which the hail was fall- 

 ing approached the kite, the fluid from the string presented 

 itself in brilliant sparks to the knuckle; and during the transit 

 of the cloud, became so abundantly discharged to a wire pre- 

 sented to the string, that it struck in rapid succession through 

 a stratum of six inches of air; and through three inches of 

 air, it presented a splendid continuous stream of electric fire. 

 As the cloud receded from the kite, by advancing in its aerial 

 course, the electric discharges became less and less brilliant, 

 and continued to diminish in splendour and energy with the 

 recession of the passing storm, ultimately vanishing altogether 

 by the emergence of the kite from the electric influence of the 

 cloud. 



These appearances were exhibited in each experiment, but 

 the display of the electric fire was the most magnificent in the 



