LABORS OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE. 95 



to blow hard from the south west, and increased in violence 

 till about two, A. M., of the 20th, when it began to abate, 

 and about dawn was nearly calm ; during all this time very 

 black clouds, accompanied with terrific lightning, without 

 thunder, almost incessant, were coming exactly against the 

 lower wind from the north east, or perhaps a little north of 

 that point, with clouds occasionally meeting them, moving 

 with the wind, and the interval between the very black 

 clouds was so bright and silvery, that the stars could hardly 

 be distinguished. About sunrise the north east wind began 

 to blow, and by eight, A. M., had increased to a gale, per- 

 fectly clear; continuing violent till about twelve, M., when 

 it began to abate, and at two, P. M., it had died away. 

 Next day it was strong from the south west. 



19th. On this same day, about five, P. M., a violent land 

 spout took place at New Brunswick and its vicinity. It 

 appeared in form of an inverted cone of smoke, reaching 

 the ground with its apex, and its base among the clouds; 

 it lasted only a few moments in a place, and progressed 

 easterly, a little north, with a slow motion, not more than 

 twenty or thirty miles an hour; it was about two or three 

 hundred yards wide, and within that breadth left neither 

 trees nor houses standing ; all the trees were thrown in- 

 wards, and generally forwards ; many of the houses had 

 their walls prostrated outwards, and the shingles were 

 thrown down in great numbers in Staten Island, along with 

 a shower of hail and rain, from fifteen to twenty-five miles 

 north east from where they were taken up. During the 

 fall of the hail, on the north side of the vein, the wind was 

 strong from the south, and on the south side of the vein, 

 the wind chopped suddenly round to the north, the wind 

 having been south west before. At the distance of a few 

 hundred yards from the spout at its passage, the wind was 

 not remarkably strong. 



In conclusion, we recommend to our correspondents to 



