' fact is worthy of notice in connection with this remarkable'storm, showing the partiality 

 ■of the destructive element. The centre of the parish of Felton seems to have 

 'experienced aU the effects of this tornado; for, as was noticeable in many of the 

 ' orchards, the trees presented the appearance of a cannon ball having being directly fired 

 'through, so completely and regularly were they blown down ; that this only extended to 

 ' one half of the orchards is the most peculiar coincidence. It seems as if a line had been 

 ' drawn precisely across the middle of them, the one hall remaining untouched, not the 

 'limb of a tree having been broken off, whilst on the other scarcely a tree was left 

 ' standing, all of them having been cut to pieces, more or less. To prove the partial 

 " results of the storm of wind, we may notice that persons residing several hundred yards 

 " from this place had not the faintest conception of the cause of terror of their neighbours. 

 " At Ullingswick and Withington, which are but a short distance from Felton, no damage 

 " of this kind was enacted, and it was not until some of the dweUers in those places had 

 "ocular proof of the devastation there that they could be induced to give credence to 

 ' ' such an unusual reaUty. In one instance we counted no less than thirty-two trees out of an 

 " orchard numbering forty trees ; these were lying on the ground with upturned roots, 

 " several of them being of great size. In Woodland coppice great mischief was done. It 

 " was a pitiable sight to behold many of the poor cottagers dweUing in their mutilated cots, 

 " some of which were blown almost to pieces. Although a great deal of stock was out in 

 " the fields and woods when the storm raged in its fury, yet not a single animal was killed, 

 " although the poor things ran about in a frightful manner. The tornado seems to have 

 " confined itself to a very limited area, the extent of the damage in width ia very slight, 

 " and the distance otherwise about a mile or so. The only conjecture that can be given, 

 " I think, and it seems to be the prevailing beUef at Felton, is that this great gust of wind 

 " was compressed between two fierce storms of rain. We cannot do better, to make a 

 " minute and exact report of this singular event, than quote the particulars aa gleaned 

 " by us from an eye witness. The first indication of the approaching storm was noticed 

 •' about half-past three o'clock in the afternoon, when the sky presented a most ominous 

 " and gloomy aspect, and persons who were out in the fields at once wisely made for 

 " their respective homes, under the belief that a tremendous thunderstorm was imminent. 

 " And their anticipations were very shortly after this realized, only, perhaps, two or 

 " three minute shaving elapsed ere the storm commenced its fury. The clouds were 

 "observed to rise and fall in a kind of surge, and the atmosphere to fill with a kind of 

 " fine dust. Then followed, in less time than it takes us to note it, a sort of whizzing 

 " noise, bearing a strong resemblance to the discharge of a bullet [from a rifle, which was 

 "heard to approach from a south-westerly direction. A strong hurricane followed 

 " this storm, loud peals of thunder accompanied by vivid and continued flashes of 

 "lightning ensued, and, with only this preliminary notice of the ravaging hurricane, 

 " trees were uprooted and thrown down in all directions, huge branches from the lofty 

 " summits of trees of an enormous height were carried by the force of the wind to eon 

 " tiguous fields— in some cases for a longer distance — roofs taken o£E the houses, 

 " windows broken to pieces, and in some instances blown entirely out. All this was 

 " the work of a very short space of time— in five minutes the wind had entirely ceased, 

 " although the rain continued in an unabated downpour for several hours." 



To preserve a picture of so remarkable a visitation in such descriptive word-painting 

 as the above quotation from the Berefwd Times is, I consider, the obvious duty 

 of the Woolhope Club, for whom nothing that pertains to the works of nature is too 

 grandly magnificent or too minutely fashioned to be above or beneath reverent observation 

 and careful record. The devastating whirlwind is but an exaggeration of that more 



