ON A WHIRLWIND AT BLOXWORTH. 79 



of some trees here and there in the track escaping, I may point to 

 letter C. in the plan, where there were eight or ten large elms, 

 some of them directly in the line ; but not a twig even of any one 

 of them shewed signs of the wind, whereas a large one close by in 

 the fence at F. was broken off at the trunk. Occurring in the 

 middle of the night, it was not witnessed by any one ; if it had 

 taken place in the day time it would have been a fine sight, and 

 doubtless a bystander might have stood close to the edge of the 

 track and experienced no inconvenience whatever. 



The only previous occurrence of the kind, of which I have myself 

 seen any such effects as I have above described, took place in Blox- 

 worth some 20 or 25 years ago, but although its general character and 

 effects were similar the latter were by no means so traceable, or so 

 disastrous ; in this former instance the path of the whirlwind was 

 about two miles in length, the attendant circumstances were also 

 very similar viz., a very rapid previous fall of the barometer, a 

 gale of wind from S.W., and an immediate dropping of the wind 

 after the blast had gone by. I have represented roughly in the 

 plan, by red spots, the various trees destroyed, the larger spots 

 noting the larger trees ; but of course I do not pretend to any 

 exact numerical accuracy. The number of apple trees destroyed, 

 however, is just over 40, and they average from 8 to 15 inches in 

 diameter of the trunk; all were planted by myself just 51 years 

 ago. 



I may mention here that the photographs I have shewn were 

 done by one of our Members, Mr. F. J. Beckford, and kindly given 

 to me for the purpose of illustrating my account of this whirlwind. 



