1808.] Account of the late Thunder-storm in Somersetshires 
apples suffered considerably; one hail- 
stone is stated to have measured thirteen 
inches and a half. 
At the village of Wanstrow, the dis- 
tant thunder was heard one hour and a 
half before the sturm began there, which 
was a little before seven It was ob- 
served to come from the S.S.W. and 
proceeded to the northward. ‘The fall of 
hail was of short continuance, not more 
than five minutes; the medium size of 
the stones three inchesround. One mea- 
sured twelve inches, flattened on one 
\ side, and much crenated :—the inter- 
missions between the flashes of lightning 
were abont three seconds. The wind 
was turbulent. The clouds, at the com- 
mencement of the storm, appeared in 
complete hurly-burly, rushing with impe- 
tuosity towards each other in every di- 
rection, and again receding, according 
to the principles of electricity, above 
adverted to. Windows broken; wheat 
and barley beaten down, and much in- 
jured, 
_ At Shepton Mallet the storm appeared 
to come from the S.W. and to pass to the 
eastward :—hail-stones of the size of a 
walnut, the fall of which continued but a 
short space of time; the lightning inces- 
‘sant, and the thunder scarcely ceasing for 
two hours. A valuable horse near the 
town killed by the lightning. -A report 
of the damages done in the neighbour- 
ing villages, my correspondent observes, 
would exceed credit. At the villages of 
Donhead, Leigh on Mendip, and Stoke- 
lane, very much damage done to win- 
dows, corn, grass, and trees. 
At Whatley, near Frome, on the wes- 
tern part of the village, some few hail- 
stones fell. In the village of Elm, a mile 
north of Whatlev, one hail-stone only 
was seen to fall; but in the adjoining pa- 
rish, Mells, the storm, was truly tremen- 
dous, Col. Horner, of Mells’-park, writes 
me that the lightning was almost inces- 
sant; that the severity of the hail-storm 
lasted about a quarter of an hour; hail- 
stones generally from seven to eight 
inches and a quarter circumference; that 
he had more than 3,000 panes of glass 
broken in his house, hot-houses, garden- 
glasses, &c. Very many rooks,* pigeons, 
~—-e—__—_— 
* Tt may be remarked, that in this park 
is a very extensive grove of ancient venerable 
beech-trees, which for ages has been the 
nightly resort of multitudes of rooks, not only 
the rightful tenants of the grove, but those 
of the neighbouring rookeries for miles round, 
‘a mode of association which is common to 
thlis species of bird. it scems aot improba~ 
i 
305 
-and pheasants killed; his pine-plants 
and other exotics destroyed: wheat and 
barley cut off, and unmown grass beaten 
into the ground. 
From the village of Mells, another 
correspondent (Mr. Fussell, the eminent 
manufacturer of iron instruments), gives 
me the following particulars:—The storm, 
he says, began at half past seven, coming 
from the $.8 W.; that it was not more 
than seven minutes continuance at his 
house, but at other parts of the parish 
more than half an hour: the hail-stones 
from four to nine inches circumference: 
the intermission between the flashes of 
lightning could scarcely be perceived; at 
every place where the violence of the 
sterm was felt, the effects were truly 
astonishing, Wheat, oats, and barley, 
entirely destroyed; as were all the garden 
vegetables; unmowed grass beaten down 
flat; the roads and lands strewed with 
leaves and branches of trees, Wherever 
a hail-stone struck atree or large branch, 
the bark was struck off.. Every pane of 
glass exposed was broken to pieces, 
Two days after the storm, hail-stones 
were taken from a ditch, which measur- 
ed from six to seven inches in circum- 
ference. 
From various communications (none of 
which I had reason to doubt) of the pe- 
culiarly destructive effects of this storm on 
a farm of Col. Horner’s, within this pa« 
rish, in the occupation of Farmer Nuth, 
I was induced, four weeks after, to visit 
the spot, and view the ravages made on 
the corn crops. Here I saw the honest 
man’s hopes and prospects ofan abundant 
harvest entirely blasred by this tremen- 
dous visitation. Of thirty-eight acres of 
promising wheat, twenty-four of barley, 
and twelve of oats, he has not a sheaf 
left to carry to his barn. The storm, he 
informed me, came to him from the west ; 
the hail continued from twenty-five to 
thirty minutes: it fell not in a perpendi- 
cular, but a slauting direction, and was, 
as he emphatically termed it, a sweeping 
sterm, indeed! His wheat in ful! bioom, 
standing in promising condition (as well 
as his other crops), so battered, crippled, 
broken, and beaten down to the ground, 
that not enough was left standing on his 
farm to furnish him with a handful of 
Tipe corn, when the time of harvest came. 
rN 
ble that the numerous dry limbs of trees in 
this grove (and in the park generally), be- 
ing electrified negatively, attracted the cloud, 
which was electrified positively; and that 
such attraction may have tended to encrease 
the violence of the storm at this spot. 
A_crop 
