TRANSACTIOXS OF THE SECTIONS. 3? 



the same night we had another light shower of some "06 or -07 of an inch. Strange, 

 that there was no depression of the barometer ; on the contrary, it had risen "050 

 of an inch above that of the previous day ! 



Hailstorm at Poorundhnr, on the Wth of December, 1854. 

 Lat. 18° 42' N., long. 14° 12' E. Alt. 3500 feet. 



A severe hailstorm was experienced in the Poorundhur Talooka of this Collec- 

 torate on the afternoon of the 11th of December. Numbers of persons were severely 

 injured by the failing of large ice-flakes, many of them weighing several pounds, 

 and cattle in considerable numbers have died from the effects of the storm, which, for 

 the time it lasted (about three hours), was the most severe of any within the recol- 

 lection of the oldest inhabitant. The hailstorm was succeeded, as at Jooneer, by a 

 very heavy fall of rain, and the grain crops, gardens, and fruit-trees have suffered 

 greatly therefrom. Poorundhur is situated at a distance of seventy miles south-east 

 of Jooneer ; but we have not yet heard that the intervening districts have experi- 

 enced similar phaenomena to those above described. There has been no particular 

 atmospheric disturbance in or around Poona, the climate of which station is now 

 delightful, as it always is at this time of year. — Poona Observer, Dec. 20. 



The most unusual occurrence of a hailstorm in Ceylon has lately taken place. A 

 few days since at Puselava, following a thunder-storm, a heavy fall of hail took 

 place, lasting half an hour. In some places, where the wind drove the hail into 

 corners, whole handsfuU of hail, the size of marbles, were gathered. The natives 

 were struck with wonderment, and whilst shifting the frozen drops from hand to 

 hand, declared that it was so hot that they could not hold it. The hail actually for 

 some minutes whitened the ground in many places. At Hunasgeria also a shower 

 of hail fell on the same day, but not in the same quantity as at Puselava. Some 

 years ago we saw a small fall of hail at Kornegalle. It is unknown either at Newera 

 Killia or at the Neilgherries. — Ceylon Times, April 13. 



Hailstorm at Futtehgurh, on the 2\st of April, 1855. Lat. 26° 10', long. 75° 10'. 



A correspondent at Futtehgurh, writing on the 24th of April, mentions the occur- 

 rence of a severe hailstorm on Saturday last, which had caused considerable 

 damage to the tobacco and melon fields. Our correspondent says the hailstones 

 were larger than he ever beheld ; one he measured being seven inches in circum- 

 ference. Heavy clouds were hanging about at the time of writing. — Delhi 

 Gazette, April 26. 



A correspondent gives the following account of a hailstorm which took place at 

 Futtehgurh on the 21st April : — "Last Saturday we had an awful hailstorm, such 

 a one as probably has not been known for a century. The hailstones, without 

 exaggeration, were larger than turkey eggs, and sufficient to have knocked a bullock 

 down. As they fell, you saw them rebounding six feet in height." 



Hailstorm at Nainee Tal, on the Uth of May, 1855. Lat. 29° 20', long. 79° 80'. 



On the 11th of May 1855, Nainee Tal was visited by a storm of hail, which, as 

 regards the size, weight, and number of the stones, has probably never been sur- 

 passed by any in the world. A calm, cool morning ; a hot, enervating noon ; a 

 cold evening and night, with the wind blowing bleakly from the north, had charac- 

 terized the few preceding days. The barometer had stood high, and the wet-bulb ther- 

 mometer indicated an extremely dry atmosphere. On the 10th, at 4 p.m., the dry- 

 bulb thermometer stood, under a grass chopper, at 80 degrees Fahr. ; on the 11th, 

 at the same hour and place, at 62 degrees Fahr. ! On the former date, the difference 

 between the dry- and wet-bulb thermometers was 15 degrees ; on the latter, this 

 difference was reduced to 4 degrees ! Towards 6 p.m., a small preliminary shower 

 of rain fell, deep-toned thunder rolled and reverberated, and vivid lightning streamed 

 and blazed over the devoted station. The hail was ushered in by a few bright lens- 

 shaped stones, as large as pigeons' eggs ; then came more. Many were the weighings 

 and measurings of these monsters over all parts of the station. Some weighed 6, 

 others 8, others 10 ounces ; and one or two more than 1|- pound avoirdupois, with 

 circumferences varying from 9 to 13 inches. Though no bullocks were killed, a 

 monkey was, and three human beings were knocked down. Birds were killed, 

 trees barked, and houses unroofed. Such was the storm of the 1 1th of May, and it 

 forms an epoch in the meteorological history of Nainee Tal ; for though hail is 

 common enough here in the hot weather, no stones (during the ten years that Sir 



