¥ 
306 
A crop of turnips, also, five acres, lite- 
rally beaten into the ground, and the 
field dotted all over by the hail-stones, 
as if with the end of an iron bar, in 
numberless instances to the depth of 
two inches, In passing the western side 
of an hedge, I could not but remark the 
effect of the storm on the trees and un- 
der-wood; the bark of several branches 
which I gathered had wounds an inch 
anda half in length. In short, such a 
scene of devastation my eyes never be- 
fore saw, and [ trust never will again. 
J. Paget, esq. of Newbury-house, two 
miles N.W. of Mells, informs me that 
the storm of rain began there -at half 
past seven; thata¢ lasted three quarters 
of ap hour: the fall of hail about twenty- 
five minutes; the medium size of the 
bail-stones that of a pigeon’s egg, some 
of them eight ov nine inches in e1rcumfe- 
rence: one was picked up just as at fell, 
which could not be put into a pint cup; 
another was the size of a man’s wrist. 
A gentleman, who is tall and altogether a 
stout man, selected three hail-stones, 
near his house, alter the storm, which he 
could not yrasp in one hand, so as to hold 
them: the large huil-stunes were more or 
less flat, some of them extremely smooth, 
much resembling sea pebbles, others al- 
together as rugged and irregular. All 
windows facing the west were demolish- 
ed, scarcely apane escaped. A quantity 
of Cornish slates broken, as were many 
pantiles that lay rather flat. Flower- 
pots and pans in the garden broken, 
Fruit-trees not only stript of their fruit, 
but so battered with the hail, that in 
numberless instances the injury on the 
bark seemed as if it had been inflicted 
with a hammer. All cucumber lights 
utterly demolished, even those which 
were glazed with the thick knob, er bul- 
len glass. The vegetables in the gardens 
beaten down as flat as if a large flock of 
sheep had been driven over them ; many 
rooks, ducks, &c. were killed, and others 
severely maimed. A farmer's boy, ona 
neighbouring down, was so battered by 
the hail, that he was black and blue. 
Near the same spot a hare was knocked 
down by the hail, and taken up as dead. 
A young farmer, in attempting to run 
from the stable into the house, was so 
stunned by a blow from a hail-stone, 
that he could only save himself from 
falling by catching hold of agate. At 
Babington, Kilmersden, Hemington, and 
Writhlington, many score acres of corn 
alinost wholly destroyed. 
Acsount of the late Thunder-siorm in Somersetshire, 
Babington, the seat of C. Knatchbull, 
esq. suffered much in glass and the gar- 
den vegetables: wheat, barley, and other 
grain destroyed, F 
Ammerdownehouse, the seat of T. S. 
Jolliffe, esq. being on a more elevated 
spot than the seats just mentioned, suf - 
fered in its windows and roof proportion- 
ately, [be storm, which came from the 
S.W. began there soon after seven, and 
continued an hour; the common size of 
the hail-stones about five or six inches 5 
some nine inches in circumference. The 
corn, Mr. Jollitfe informs me, was much 
prostrated ; small animals killed, the roofs 
of buildings materially injured, and the 
glass of many houses utterly demolished, 
Here is the first instance which oecurs 
of this weighty storm ascending and 
crossing a hill ‘of any material elevation, 
It seems hereabout to have sub-divided, 
part passing down the vale to Kilmersdon 
and Radstock, and the other part pass- 
ing over the hill near Ammersdown, to 
Hemington; where the hai fell with 
considerable violence, broke some of the 
windows of the church, and of the par- 
sonage-house, and destroyed several fields 
of corn. At Highwood farm, in this 
parish, seven acres of wheat, in a field of 
twelve acres, were totally destroyed, 
whilst the other five remained unhurt:— 
a flock of sheep near the house, which 
had been shorn but few weeks before, 
were so bruised by large hail-stones, that 
the contusions produced suppuration ; 
and the shepherd had much difficulty in 
curing them. The cattle running to the. 
wood-side for shelter, expressed their 
feelings by the most piteous moanings. 
Not only the windows of the house were 
broken with violence, but the outer door 
(of ancient oak) was so battered, that 
Numerous impressions of the hail-stones 
still remain, and consequently will, as 
long as it shall be a door, 
This branch of the storm proceeded 
down the narrow vale to Writhlington 
and Radstock, in which short progress it 
destroyed many fields of corn, to the 
amount of nearly £1000. 
, At Radstock, the Rev. Mr. James 
writes me that the general storm (which 
seemed to come from every point) con- 
tinued for several hours; the size of the 
hail-stones frora that of peas to that of 
lien’s eggs; few windows broken; but 
wheat and barley much injured.—Mid- 
summer Norton, a neighbouring village 
on the west, sustained little or no injury. 
—Chewton Mendip, farther to the west, 
sustained 
