Proceedings. 63 



Much damage was also done to trees, especially evergreens, 

 by the snow breaking off branches, and in many cases splitting 

 the trunks of small trees and shrubs. 



Snow and hail are not so dissimilar in their origin as may 

 at first sight be regarded. Snow sometimes falls in very 

 small pellets of precisely like character with that which 

 occasionally presents itself in hail, only the hail is in larger 

 balls. In such case the hail and snow are accretions of 

 frozen vapour having a spongy texture, but at other times 

 hail comes down in hard lumps of ice, the hardness probably 

 arising from the spongy balls being first partially thawed, 

 and the particles in consequence uniting more closely, and 

 then, from their passing through a cooler atmosphere, being 

 frozen hard. 



Thunder and Lightning. — A thunder-storm occurred on 

 May 22nd, accompanied with a heavy fall of rain, '97 in. 

 The storm lasted from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. Thunder was again 

 heard on the night of the 22nd or early on the morning of 

 the 23rd. Another thunder-shower occurred on May 31st, 

 about 9 a.m. A storm burst over the district on the morning 

 of September 4th, interfering greatly with one of the excursions 

 of the Club, planned for that day ; but the weather cleared up 

 afterwards, and became fine and hot. Those of the members 

 who braved the morning were recompensed by a most 

 delightful excursion to Ashdown Forest, over a charming 

 district. 



There was a remarkably heavy thunder-storm on Oct. 19th, 

 very heavy in the western part of the county, but it did not 

 reach EedhUl ; only lightning was seen. In the neighbour- 

 hood of Farnham the storm was so great that many persons 

 were terrified, and one woman, I am told, died from the 

 effects of fright. 



Hail. — Few hail-storms occurred at Eedhill. There was a 

 heavy hail-storm in Cornwall and Devon on March 31st, and 

 hail-stones as large as an egg were reported to have fallen, but 

 what kind or size of egg does not appear. The storm was 

 remarkable for the rapid rate at which it travelled across the 

 country, about sixty miles an hour. 



